I've Loved You All Along
by WorldofPureImagination87
Summary: Why do the ones that love us, hurt us the most? An unexpected case leads to trouble and confessions. Attempt at writing a longer story. 2nd Fic. Rated M for sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

**SO here is my second fan fic! My first contained mainly smut (which I absolutely love in a fic btw!) but I thought I'd have a go at writing a story this time. Have a few ideas floating in my head about where its going, but this may change depends on the direction it leads me. Been watching the entire CSI series again and I forgot how much I adore Grissom. Not to mention I still have the biggest older man crush on him! =) this story does not follow CSI storylines, only exception being how it opens after Sara broke up with Hank. Please read, review and tell me what you think so far. **

* * *

Sara sat at the bar drowning her sorrows on her night off. The break up with Hank hit her hard. The hardest part was that she actually liked him, and now she felt a heavy weight on her shoulders, and in her heart. How could he cheat on her with another woman? OR was she the other woman? What did it matter now? They were over. Sara called the bartender to pour her another shot. Each one was making her feel just that bit better. The bartender came over, filling her glass.

"Rough night?"

Sara put her elbow on to the bar, resting her head upon her hand and looked up at him.

"Something like that, yeah".

Sara grabbed the shot and downed it quickly, the strength and sharpness of it making her face screw up slightly, but it felt warm sliding down the back of her throat. She pointed at her glass, indicating another, and then another, and another, each one being thrown straight down her throat. This time, as she placed the glass back down, a man slid on to the stool next to her, a drink in his hand. Sara leaned upright on her stool, turning to look at him. He gave her his best charming smile, but Sara didn't show him any emotion as she turned back to look at her glass on the bar, twirling it around. Her head began to feel woozy and she was feeling a little merry, but right now she didn't want any attention from someone of the opposite sex. The man shuffled closer slightly, obviously not taking the hint.

"Now I know someone as beautiful as you shouldn't be here on your own. No boyfriend with you?"

Sara scoffed.

"Nope... not anymore."

The man smiled, thinking his luck was in.

"Well, his loss".

Sara flicked her head in his direction.

"His loss is your gain right? Sure you'll gain someone who you'll rarely see at night, who spends all her time around dead bodies, and often comes home smelling of death".

The man almost choked on his drink as he spluttered. He looked at her a little horrified.

"So when do you want to take me out?".

The guy put his drink down and slid off the stool. He cleared his throat, and took a step backward.

"Ummm, I..."

"I thought so. Bye!"

Sara turned back to her empty glass as the man made a quick exit. She laughed to herself and ordered another few drinks. Her head was now starting to spin, and everything seemed a little brighter. All her thoughts of Hank were gone, and her mind filled with the music in the bar. As the tempo quickened on the music, Sara jumped off her stool and sauntered over to the dance floor, squeezing in among the crowd there, and throwing some shapes whilst swinging her hips around in time to the beat. A male who was dancing beside her started edge his way towards her. Sara carried on, oblivious to his attempt to get closer to her until she felt him grinding up against her from behind. Sara jumped at the unexpected contact and swung around, frowning at him and pushed him back a little, not liking his invasion of her space. The man glared at her and took a step towards her, not impressed at being shoved. It looked like he was about to shout at her until another male stepped in between him and Sara. Sara was looking at the back of his head, and tilted her head to the side, convincing herself she recognised who it was. Only one man she knew had those salt and pepper curls in his hair.

"Is there a problem here?"

The man folded his arms, looking the other up and down. He sniggered.

"Who are you? Her boyfriend?"

"Actually I'm her boss!"

Grissom raised his hands between them as a barrier, looking apologetic.

"Excuse her behaviour, I think she's had a little too much."

The man looked over Grissom's shoulder at Sara, and then back to Grissom. He took a couple of steps back, and then turned around mumbling under his breath as he slowly walked away. He glanced back around, fixing his eyes on Sara and gave her an intense stare, narrowing his eyes as he did, then continued to leave the bar. Grissom watched him, feeling a little uneasy about the look he gave Sara, then turned around. His thoughts were distracted as Sara beamed at him, but boy was he giving her an intense disapproving look.

"Gil! My knight in shining armour!"

Sara threw her arms around his neck giving him a hug, squeezing him. Grissom moved her back by her shoulders and bent down slightly, leaning in closer to her so she could hear him over the music.

"Sara what are you doing here? Where Hank?"

Grissom knew Sara wouldn't normally come to a bar on her own since she'd been dating Hank. Sara scoffed again at the mention of his name.

"Pfft! Hank? Lets not talk about him. Why don't you join me for a drink?".

Sara took a few steps backwards, attempting to move back towards the bar but she stumbled. Grissom grabbed her arm again, supporting her.

"I think you've had enough."

Sara yanked her arm out of his grip, getting a little worked up at being told what to do. As she pulled her arm away the force carried her backwards, and Grissom didn't have time to catch her. Sara fell and knocked her head on one of the tables nearby. Grissom quickly bent to her side, checking that she was ok. A small lump started to form on the side of her head almost instantly. Grissom gently took her hands.

"Come on Sara, let's get you home".

Despite not feeling much pain from the impact, Sara had knocked the fun out of herself. She nodded at Grissom, agreeing to leave. Grissom pulled her to her feet. Before moving Grissom paid her bar tab, then placed one of his arms around her shoulders, and the other on her forearm, supporting Sara as he led her outside towards his vehicle. He assisted her in climbing into the passenger seat, and moved to the other side, getting into the driver's seat. Grissom started up the engine, and then turned to face Sara.

"I'll drop you off and then..."

Sara interrupted him before he could continue.

"Grissom, I don't want to go back to an empty house".

A look of concern spread across Grissom's face.

"I thought Hank..."

Sara interrupted again.

"Hank won't be spending the night again. Ever... I don't want to be alone, not tonight".

Sara's eyes dropped from Grissom's, into her lap, looking down at her hands as they clasped together. She glanced back up at him. Grissom knew it would be inappropriate for her to stay with him. But he couldn't resist those big brown eyes staring back at him. They had always put their faith and trust in each other, and now Sara needed a friend. Considering she was also at risk of a concussion, Grissom decided someone needed to keep an eye on her, just for tonight. Grissom exhaled deeply, and turned his eyes to the road. He put the car into gear and left the parking lot, heading home.

They pulled into the driveway, and Grissom shut off the engine. He got out of his side of the car, and then helped Sara out escorting her into his front door. Upon entering, Grissom turned on the hallway light. He lead Sara into the front room, the hallway light casting just enough shine to see two couches. Gil sat Sara down and disappeared down the hallway. Sara couldn't sit still, her body being influenced by the alcohol. Grissom came back into the room, a large glass of water clutched in his hand. He held it out in his hand towards Sara and looked at it.

"Drink this, it will make you feel better for the morning".

Sara slowly took the glass from his hand and looked down at it. She wasn't impressed with it. She'd much prefer to have been given another alcoholic beverage. Grissom watched her and she could feel his eyes staring into her. She knew he wasn't going to let her not drink it. Sara brought the drink to her lips and attempted to take a couple of gulps from it. Being intoxicated, she completely missed her mouth and spilt the liquid down her, soaking through her top as well as the bottom half of her jeans. She started giggling, as Grissom sighed and took the glass away from her.

"Lets just get you to bed".

Grissom took her hands, encouraging Sara to get to her feet. He placed her arm over his neck draped across his shoulders, then placed his own arm under hers and rested it around her back as he walked her over to the stairs. Slowly they worked their way up the steps, Sara giggling the whole way about the situation. As they reached the top step, she misplaced her footing, slipping off the edge and tumbled forwards, dragging Grissom down with her. Fortunately she didn't hurt herself, but she burst out laughing. Grissom couldn't help but smile at her laughter as he shook his head, and lifted her back to standing. He guided her into the guest room and sat her down on the edge of the bed then proceeded to leave the room. After a few moments, he returned and lay one of his shirts next to her.

"You cant sleep in those wet clothes, so you can wear that for tonight."

Sara cocked her head, smirking at him.

"Gil Grissom, are you trying to get me naked?"

Grissom glanced to the floor, awkwardly placing his hands into his trouser pockets as he did. Sara giggled again.

"Just... get some sleep Sara".

Grissom spun on his heels and left the room leaving Sara to get changed. She did exactly that, taking far longer then necessary in her required state to button the shirt he gave her. It came just below her bottom, but it was large on top. She then slid under the covers and closed her eyes, taking only seconds to drift off to sleep. Meanwhile across the hallway, Grissom changed into a pair of red and green plaid pyjama's, then sat on the edge of the bed. He rubbed his forehead, thinking to himself. Why did her relationship with Hank end? Sara must have been hurting pretty bad for her to go out and take no precautions over her actions. Part of him wanted to tell her off for being so irresponsible, and the other part wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her everything was going to be ok. Grissom sighed, then climbed under his covers, pulling them up tightly around his neck. Slowly he fell asleep.

* * *

**So that's it for part one. Please leave a review if your willing and I'm always open to ideas about the direction of stories, so please send me anything you may like to see to my inbox or leave a comment in the review section.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Bear with me as I get used to writing stories in longer lengths. always been more of a short story person. I have intentions for the storyline to go somewhere particular but excuse me if I get distracted along the way, or it goes a little slow at first =)**

* * *

Grissom was woken suddenly in the night only an hour later, by something warm, wet and soft touching his lips. As he opened his eyes, he could just make out an outline of something leaning over him. He put his hands forward, pushing that something back with his arms as he sat upright suddenly. The moonlight peering through his window shone on the outline as he made out Sara's features, her brown eyes reflecting the light. His hands had come into contact with her shoulders, and Grissom furrowed his eyebrows at her, a stern look spreading across his face.

"Sara? What are you doing!?"

Sara giggled playfully.

"Lighten up Grissom, just trying to have a little fun"

Sara went to learn forward again, attempting to kiss him once more but Grissom's grip stiffened on her shoulders, holding her back.

"Sara... Sara! Stop!".

Sara froze hearing the seriousness in his voice, the giggles faded away. His slightly raised voice had snapped her groggy mind back to reality. Tears welled up in her eyes, and a lump formed in her throat. Grissom's expression and body softened by her reaction as a single tear started to slowly trickle down her cheek.

"What's wrong with me Grissom? Why does nobody want me?"

Sara's face fell, not wanting to make eye contact with Grissom as she started to silently sob to herself. Grissom released her shoulders and placed his hands either side of her face, gently holding her cheeks in his palms and brought her head up, making her look at him. He looked deep into her brown eyes.

"Sara... You are a strong, beautiful, intelligent woman. Any man would be fortunate to have you..."

The edges of her mouth upturned ever so slightly, Grissom's words bringing warmth to her.

"...but what you want right now is to be comforted, to feel something other than hurt... and the alcohol is clouding both your actions, and your judgement".

Grissom moved his thumb across her face, wiping away the tear from her cheek as she sniffed.

"What you do need is to sleep it off and get some rest".

Grissom held her gaze as she looked back at him. After a few silent moments, she nodded back in response.

"Come on, let's get you back to bed. You'll feel better in the morning".

They both raised from the bed. Grissom placed his arm around her shoulder as she was slightly unsteady, and lead her back towards the guest room. The room was still dimly lit by the bedside table. She climbed back into bed, as Grissom pulled the blanket up around her. Sara instinctively closed her eyes as she snuggled down under the sheet and smiled, a barely audible whisper escaping her lips.

"Thank you".

Grissom reciprocated, returning the smile as he turned off the bedside lamp. He looked down at her, lingering for a couple of seconds and then headed back to his own room. As he got comfortable back in bed, he let out a large sigh. He laid for a few moments, staring at the ceiling, pondering over what just happened but the only thought that stuck in his mind was her lips touching his. He had never admitted the way he felt about Sara. In fact he had never even come to terms with it to himself, let alone anyone else. Feelings was something Grissom had never let into his life before. He kept himself to himself. But that kiss... Grissom had suddenly remembered what it was like to just feel.

Grissom peered over at the clock. 3:30am. He repositioned himself once again and closed eyes, pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind, as he drifted back to sleep.

* * *

Sara was met with an unfamiliar setting as she woke, and took her a few moments to realise she was not in her own room. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, looking at her surroundings. She was in an unknown territory. As she climbed out of bed, she looked down at herself noticing that she was in a large male shirt, her underwear and nothing else, whilst her clothes were placed neatly over the back of the opposite chair. Sara tried to cast her thoughts back to the previous evening... nothing. The last thing she remembered was being at the bar, and boy was her head pounding. Suddenly she felt a little scared.

Where the hell was she? Hesitantly she walked light-footed over to the bedroom door and peered outside. All that looked back at her was an empty hallway. Hastily she grabbed her clothes quickly changed into them, then silently crept out on to the landing. What was that smell? And there was clanging noises coming from downstairs. She wasn't alone.

Leaning over the stair bannister, she tried to make out who was there but her view was obstructed. As she cautiously made her way towards the top of the stairs, her attention was drawn to the photos on the wall. A familiar face was smiling back at her. Grissom!

"Thank god" she found herself saying, knowing that she was in the home of someone she knew. Sara made her way down the steps. She could hear noises coming from one direction, but she couldn't help take a look inside Grissom's living room. Frames adorned the walls full of perfectly laid out butterfly and bug species. No surprises there. Two white leather couches faced inwards to the centre of the room, where a glass coffee table sat. On top were a handful of nature magazines, all folded over to pages containing crossword puzzles. She smiled to herself, thinking that she had always imagined his house full of what he loved most. She followed the smell, and found Grissom in his kitchen, leaning over a hot stove. He was dressed in casual jeans, and an awful Hawaiian shirt that for some reason, only someone like Grissom could pull off. Not wanting to make him jump by speaking, she figured the best way to alert him to her presence was to clear her throat.

"Ahem"

Grissom spun around, noticing Sara standing in the doorway.

"Oh, Good morning. I figured you could do with some breakfast".

As Grissom turned back to the stove, Sara walked over to the kitchen island, placing herself upon one of the stools.

"My head is pounding. What happened last night?"

Grissom kept his back to her as he started to crack a couple of eggs into a pan. He thought carefully about how to answer that question.

"You... don't remember?"

"Last thing I remember is being at the bar. Everything else is a blur".

Grissom smiled to himself. Now he wouldn't have to awkwardly bring up the fact she kissed him last night. Even more so, he wouldn't have to admit to himself that deep down, he enjoyed the brief contact of her lips on his. Sara bowed her head, placing it on top of the island, closing her eyes.

"Here, eat this".

Grissom placed a plate of sausages, bacon and eggs beside Sara's head along with cutlery and went back to the stove to serve up his own. Sara reluctantly lifted her head, staring down at the plate. It would have looked far better if she didn't have a hangover right now.

"How did I end up here?" Sara asked, picking up the fork and pushing the food around on the plate.

Grissom came over and sat opposite her. He started to tuck into his breakfast.

"Well, I dropped into the office last night to get some papers from Catherine and on my way home, I drove past the bar and saw your car outside. We both remember what happened last time you mixed alcohol with driving, so I came to check on you. You were... well, lets just say you were in no fit state to get yourself home so I brought you back here. We can sort your car later."

A questioning look appeared on Sara's face.

"So... why did you bring me here? Why didn't you just take me home?"

Grissom paused and looked at her over the top of his glasses.

"...Cause you told me you didn't want to be alone".

Thoughts of what happened with her now ex boyfriend flooded into Sara's mind, it all rushing back to her in one swift movement. She now remembered why she was at the bar in the first place, trying to block out the memories of the last couple of days. Sara continued to use her fork to play with the food on her plate, keeping her eyes low.

"Plus you knocked your head pretty hard. You could have suffered a concussion".

Sara touched her head, wincing at finding a tender spot that she didn't even realise was there.

"Well... thanks. For not letting me go too far off the rails again. I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble Grissom".

Gil smiled to himself, just as Sara looked up at him. She was quick to notice the small smirk on his face. Clearly he was thinking about something.

"What?..."

Grissom finished off the last mouthful of food on his plate, lay his cutlery down on top of it, and wiped his mouth with a napkin. He picked up the newspaper from beside his plate, and opened it, glancing over the page as Sara waited for a response. He then proceeded to enlighten Sara a little more about her drunken activities. He told her about the way she was uncontrollably playing with every dial on the radio on the journey home. The way she stumbled up the stairs, falling over face first as he escorted her to the guest room. The way she had spilt her glass of water he'd given her all down herself, hence the reason she changed into one of his shirts to sleep in. Grissom was clearly amused by her completely un-Sara-like behaviour, and took great pleasure in telling her all about it.

Sara dropped her fork and buried her head into her hands, embarrassed that Grissom had seen her that way. Although she couldn't help but laugh slightly as he told her the stories. She lowered her hands again beside the plate.

"I'm so sorry Grissom if I caused you any trouble. Next you'll be telling me I attempted to sleep with you".

Sara laughed jokingly, a hint of nervousness in her laugh, as she said it, finally deciding to raise a piece of food to her mouth. Grissom fell silent. He didn't move, but he raised his eyes to the top of their sockets, looking at Sara over the top of his paper. Recognising that look, Sara's cheeks started to turn red.

"Oh God!"

Sara dropped her fork and once again buried her face into her hands, not bearing to look Grissom in the eyes. Sara began mumbling to herself under her breath. She was cursing at herself. A minute of uncomfortable silence ensued as Sara daren't look at Grissom. Grissom shuffled uncomfortably on his chair.

"Sara... your food's getting cold".

In typical Grissom fashion, he pushed the subject aside, not wanting Sara to question him any further about the details and lowered his eyes back to his newspaper, lifting it high enough so that he couldn't see Sara and she could no longer see him. Sara was glad he did as her face was an obvious shade of red. She forcefully placed a piece of bacon into her mouth, and started to chew. They sat in silence.

Whilst chewing her food, Sara started to feel hot and light-headed. She stopped chewing as a horrible taste came into her mouth, as she forced herself to hold back her gag reflex. Throwing her cutlery back on to the table, Sara leapt off the chair and ran straight to the bathroom. Grissom lowered his paper on hearing her run out the room, and heard her throwing up. He laid his paper down and raised one of his eyebrows as he looked across at her breakfast still sitting on the table. He shrugged, picked up her plate and scraped the contents on to his own.

"Waste not... want not"...

* * *

**sometimes I find it difficult to convey their actions in words. I can totally picture their expressions in my head but feel it may not come across in writing. Hopefully i'll improve with it over time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So here's the next part. I'm trying to get chapters written asap. I am supposed to be writing an assignment for work, but this is far more fun! But there will be a point I'll have to crack down and do my work, so I apologise in advance if there is a delay. I tried to write in a crime scene here. There is so many details I could have put in but it would be a never ending chapter, so I just stuck to simple things. If anything was wrong then sorry! But I tried so be gentle ;)**

* * *

Sara walked into the lab that night, fresh faced and ready to work the night shift. She felt far better than she did earlier on, especially once she had made a hasty retreat out of Grissom's house and caught a taxi home. A few cups of coffee and a hot shower later, she felt refreshed. She had decided to forget about what happened with Hank and bury herself into her workload instead. She made her way through the halls, greeting her co-workers as she went. She could see Grissom was already at his desk through the windows as she walked towards his office. He raised his hand to wave at her, but pretending not to notice, Sara speedily walked right past. As she turned a corner, she bumped right into Catherine, causing her to drop her paperwork to the floor.

"Whoa, why the rush?"

Sara and Catherine both bent to the floor, gathering up the items dropped.

"Sorry, I guess I'm just eager to get back to work".

"So you have one day off and you miss the place already?"

As they stood, Sara handed the papers in her hands to Catherine, adding to the ones she had picked up. Sara smiled and shrugged her shoulders, folding her arms over her chest as she did. Catherine tucked the papers back into her arms. Sara opened her mouth to speak again but a voice came from behind them.

"Catherine..."

Sara looked over her shoulder to see Grissom coming towards them. She lowered her head and turned back, keeping her eyes in Catherine's direction as Grissom stopped beside them.

"I need you to go down to Jansen Avenue. We've got two male DB's and one female in the hospital with burn injuries. Suspected homicide and arson. Nick is already informed and waiting for you, and I want you both to get down there and see what you can find. I'll contact Warrick and ask him to tag along. Sounds like one hell of a mess."

Catherine nodded and head off in the opposite direction. Grissom took Catherine's place, stepping around so he was now opposite Sara.

"You can't avoid me all night Sara".

Sara raised her eyes up, followed by her head and tucked her hair behind her ears, looking everywhere except directly in his eyes.

"Im not avoiding you... What makes you think that?"

Grissom folded his arms, and tilted his head slightly to the side, noticing her twitchy eye movements. He knew she was fibbing. He had questioned enough people to recognise those behavioural signs. Sara sighed at the expression her was giving her.

"Look, can we just not talk about what happened last night? I don't even remember and quite frankly I don't think I want to know any more then i already do".

Grissom wanted to scold her for drinking too much, but he gathered that she had been through something with Hank, something that had effected her rational thoughts. Now was not the time to admonish her actions. Grissom raised his hand and placed it on Sara's shoulder. She peered at his hand resting there, then finally looked him in his eyes.

"Sara, anything that happened last night is a direct result of your drinking. I just wanted to make sure you was feeling ok?

"I'm fine"

Sara figured short and simple was the best way to respond. Grissom acknowledged her respond with a smile and gentle squeeze of her shoulder. Their eyes remained in contact for a few more seconds then was necessary. At that moment Captain Jim Brass came walking down the hall towards them so Grissom quickly pulled his hand away from Sara's shoulder and broke their eye contact. Indeed his friendship with Sara was on a deeper personal level than anyone else in the team, but public displays of any kind, friendly or romantic, were not Grissom's forte. Both turned their attention to Brass.

"Gil, we've got another 419 just called in. If you two are done giving each other the goo goo eyes, lets go".

Brass said it in jest, chuckling to himself as he walked towards the building exit. Gil and Sara glanced back at each other, giving one another an awkward smile.

"Ummm, Lets get to work shall we?"

Sara led the way, walking in front of Grissom towards the exit. As she opened the door to head out, Grissom piped up.

"Oh by the way..."

Sara paused, holding the door open with her forearm left, and turned her body towards him.

"...You owe me thirty bucks"

Sara rolled her eyes and smirked sarcastically as she continued outside. Grissom followed after her as they headed for their crime scene.

* * *

The team entered the house. The room was in darkness with the exception of the street lights peering through the window. A single white female body lay across the floor, blonde hair, possibly late twenties, early thirties, approximately 5"6. A blanket had been drawn over her, up to her shoulders, almost like she had been tucked in. Sara and Grissom entered the room, flashlights drawn as they neared the body. Brass followed behind them, peering in at the scene.

"I'll go speak to the neighbours, see if anyone saw or heard anything".

Brass proceeded to leave, to go and question the people living next door. Sara and Grissom circled around the body, studying what lay before them. Niether of them spoke as they carefully eyed the female. Grissom squatted down beside her, getting a closer look as Sara surveyed the room. The skin around her neck had started to turn purple/yellow. No visible signs of trauma, or blood was found.

"Looks like she's been strangled"

Grissom peered up at Sara, as she was focusing on what was around the room. Two wine glasses sat on the wooden coffee table, one half full and the other knocked over, the red liquid inside spilling off the table onto the cream carpet below. Besides the wine glasses, not a single thing seemed to be out of place. Both of them took out their camera's and began photographing the scene. Coroner David Phillips entered the room, as Grissom and Sara acknowledged his presence. David made his way over to the body and joined Grissom squatting down beside him. Before advancing, David and Grissom pulled the blanket back away from the body. Sara bagged the blanket as evidence, whilst Grissom made note of the fact the victim was dressed well, high heeled shoes, stockings and a little black dress. Sara turned her gaze to them both, listening in as David got to work examining the body. He spoke as he analysed, poking a thermometer into her liver.

"Liver temperature indicates she's been dead approximated three hours, confirmed by the onset of rigor starting around the face"

David removed the themometer, then moved her limbs, looking for any other evidence present. No defensive wounds on the hands. Circular red marks were showing up around both wrists. David rolled the body to look underneath. The skin on the small of her back, and behind her neck had started to turn a dark blue/purple shade.

"Lividity suggests she died in this position, and hasnt been moved. No other signs of damage or trauma to the underside of her body."

David rolled her back, glancing over her again.

"If you guys are done photographing her, i'll get her back to the coroners office so we can take fingerprints and samples."

David looked at Grissom for approval. He replied with a simple nod. First impressions of the body did not leave them alot to go by besides how she was murdered. David called in his team as the body was escorted from the scene, heading back to the morgue. Sara and Grissom continued to look around the property. Sara's focus turned to the wine glasses on the table.

"Two wine glasses, and a female dressed for the occasion. Looks like this was a date"

Sara picked up one of the glasses with her gloved hand and start to dust it for prints. All she revealed was smudges, as if the glass had been rubbed down. Grissom was having the same trouble as he dusted area's likely to have been touched; the door handles, the television remote, the wine bottle found in the kitchen. Nothing. Sara moved on to trace, looking for anything to use as viable evidence but again found nothing related to the scene. They continued to look through the rest of the house. The kitchen, the bathroom, the bedroom, the hallway. Again, nothing. No ID for the victim, and no cell phone. Sara stepped up behind Grissom.

"Gil, i think this scene has been swept clean".

Grissom sighed heavily in frustration as he scanned his eyes around the whole room.

"No fingerprints. No trace. No hair or fibres. No fluids. No personal items. Looks like the killer knew what they were doing... I'm going to take a look outside".

Sara carried on, double checking area's just incase they missed something. Grissom made his way outside, carrying his camera and flashlight. He searched around the front yard, checking around the bushes, the outside window sills, around the front door, looking for anything that might reveal presence of a possible murdered. He widened his search, walking up the pathway of the garden, towards the yellow tape that had sealed off the area. Brass started to make his way back over, talking over Grissom as he continued his task.

"The neighbours claim they saw a man entering the house last night around 7pm, with the victim letting him in. They also said its not the first time they have seen him here so we can presume the victim knew him. But no one heard anything after that time, or saw him leave. The first officer on the scene reported the front door was left ajar, with him and his partner being the only two that entered the house. They found the DB, cornered it off and called it in immediately."

Grissom wasnt really listening as something had caught his attention, and turned to some marking in the driveway. As he got closer, there were dark tread marks from tyres etched onto the stone. Grissom took a photo of it, showing the tread marks in closer detail. As he turned around, Sara had joined him. He looked at her hopeful that she had found something but she only shook her head in response.

"Nothing. Maybe the doc can tell us more at the lab".

They were hopeful that close examination of the body might turn up some other evidence since the crime scene was not proving too useful.

* * *

At the morgue, Doctor Al Robbins was just finishing off examining the body for autopsy, as Grissom and Sara entered the room. They encircled the body, one of them on either side of the table. They both looked at Doc Robbins expectedly, waiting for his analysis.

"Good timing. I just finished my report on your Jane Doe. As you can see there are visible contusions around the neck. Closer examination revealed hand shape bruising , and petechial haemorraging in the eyes, suggesting death by asphyxiation. Bruising was also found on both sides of her hips in palm shapes indicating she was maybe held down forcefully. Also noted reddened marks around the wrists, suggesting she was bound by the hands. Sticky white residue was found around the lips, and along the cheeks. Ive taken a sample and sent it to trace"

Grissom pursed his lips thinking on the report details.

"So bound at the wrists, presumably gagged of some form, and strangled. Sex games gone bad?"

Al shook his head.

"Well i sent off an SAE kit when she was brought in which came back negative for any seminal fluid, or spermicides and no sign of any sexual trauma. Im guessing the bruising on her shoulders and waist was caused by the assailant as he held her down. She also appears to have a fractured hyoid bone in the throat which takes quite a lot of force to break. Sounds to me like whoever did this to her was pretty enraged."

Sara felt a knot in her stomach. If there was one thing she hated, it was violence against women. She felt both anger and sadness towards this unknown female. At this point she glanced up to her face, now able to get a better look at her under bright lights. Sara's eyebrows furrowed as she studied this womans face carefully as Al continued speaking.

"Ive taken DNA with her fingerprints, and sent them off for you. I didnt find anything else of relevance on the body. However, I've taken a tox screen to rule out the presence of any substances, and emptied the stomach contents which contained mostly red wine, and seafood... Sara are you ok?"

Al had noticed the look on Sara's face as she inspected the corpes' face, tilting her head different ways to get a look at the features from all angles. Grissom looked in her direction when Al mentioned her name.

"Sara? Something wrong?"

Grissoms voice made Sara turn her head in his direction.

"Yeah its just... for some reason she looks... familiar."

Al and Grissom glanced at each other quickly, then back to Sara again. Al lifted the examination lamp away from the body, making her features hide in the dark again.

"Sometimes i think they all start to look the same after a while aswell".

Sara looked down towards her feet.

"Yeah... maybe"

With that, Sara turned and headed towards the door. Grissom opened his mouth to speak but Sara was already out of the room before he managed to get any words out. Sara walked away from the autopsy room, trying to shake the feeling that she knew the female from somewhere. She decided to head to the break room to grab a coffee and to compose her thoughts.

* * *

**Chapter 3 complete. Review if your willing please. I like to know how I'm doing since I've never really written anything lengthy before. Also I hope I did ok with the crime scene. I know there was far more detail I could have gone into but I guess the point is that there wasn't much there for them to collect. Hmmm, strange ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Having some mental blockage seeping in at the mo. As I said, I kind of know where I want things to lead but I just need to work my way there. I have all these different parts written out as drafts to use, but whether or not I'll use them yet I don't know. My problem is I tend to change things a lot, or start it going one way and then change my mind. Arrrgghh! The joys of trying to being imaginative! Anyways, here's part 4. Thanks for the reviews so far.**

* * *

Sara sat in the break room, holding a hot mug of black coffee between her hands, staring blankly ahead of her as her mind jumbled thoughts within her head. Where did she see that face before? No matter how hard she thought, she just could not place it. Annoyance set in as she slammed the mug down on the table, forgetting it was hot, as the near boiling liquid seeped over the edges onto her hands. She drew in a sharp breath, the liquid scolding her slightly as she shook it off and used a nearby napkin to dry them.

"A dollar for your thoughts?"

Sara looked up to the voice to see Grissom standing in the doorway, leaning on the frame with his shoulder and both hands in his pockets. He had been standing there, observing her for a few seconds. Sara gave him a confused look.

"I thought it was 'a penny for your thoughts'?"

Grissom walked into the room, the door swinging shut behind him and he poured himself his own coffee as he spoke.

"Well it is, but considering this is Las Vegas, I'm afraid I don't have pennies to give".

As he reached the table, he sat down next to her. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a single dollar and threw it on the table towards her. He leant back, relaxing into his chair as he watched her.

"So?"

Sara glanced down at the dollar and then looked back up at him, looking amused. He always knew how to bring a smile to her face. Her expression turned back to its previous state, as she exhaled.

"I can't put my finger on it Grissom. I know we see so many people day in day out, and maybe some do all start to look the same. But this is different".

Grissom realised she was referring to their dead body a few doors down on the autopsy table. He leant forward, placing the mug down on the table as he rested his elbows and forearms on the edge, placing his weight onto it. Her eyes looked tearful. Grissom hated seeing her like this. She always empathised with these kind of victims which was a perfectly normal response, but Grissom had learnt to shut down these feelings for most cases, as it just makes the job too painful. The only things that often got Grissom riled up were deaths involving child victims. But for Sara, she couldn't help it.

"Sara, you could have seen this person anywhere. At the mall, at the bar, just walking around town. Don't let that face haunt you".

"Well if the face doesn't haunt me, the image of her being violently strangled to death certainly will".

Silence fell between them as Grissom's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, picking up the sadness in Sara.

"I don't get how people can do such things to each other Grissom. How a husband, a boyfriend, a lover, a friend, can just murder someone so viciously".

Grissom shook his head at her.

"We cant presume the killer was one of those things, nor can we predict it was even a male. You know not to get ahead of the evidence Sara."

Sara slammed her hand down on the table, the frustration coming back to her.

"What evidence Gil!?"

Sara got up forcefully causing her chair to roll backwards. She took a few steps away from Grissom, running her fingers through her hair, taking a few deep breaths to calm her thoughts. Grissom watched her, allowing her the few seconds she needed to regain her composure. Her cell phone started to ring. Grissom sipped his coffee, never taking his eyes off her as she reached into her pocket and took out her cell phone. Sara looked at the caller ID. Hank.

She pressed the call reject button, then threw the phone down onto the table as it slid just a short distance from Grissom. The name of the caller was visible on the screen, which didn't get past Grissom. Sara placed her hands on her hips and hung her head down, staring at the floor, breathing deeply.

"Do you want to talk about what happened between the two of you?"

Sara couldnt even turn to look at him, niether did she want to.

"Not particularly, no".

If theres one person Sara did not want to confide in about her relationship it was Grissom. Although she trusted him with every aspect of her life, she did not want him to know why her involvement with Hank was a failure. How could she admit to him that she only dated because he made her feel unwanted, refusing to acknowledge her interests in him? How could she admit that he made her feel like she wasn't good enough for him? More so, how could she reveal that Hank had obviously thought the same thing, considering after 6 months of dating he strayed? The sad thing about it was, she thought she was moving on, actually developing feeling for Hank and for once in her life forgetting about Grissom. And just like that, in one quick swoop, she was back to square one. Feeling alone, being alongside the one man she loved with every part of her being, but who was emotionally unavailable to return it.

Grissom did not push the subject, deciding not to question any further until she was willing. He couldnt fathom why he thought she would open up to him about her relationship, when he couldnt even confess his own feelings. Again he felt the urge to bring her close and hold her, just like he had last night in his home. But he couldnt. He left the silence open, wanting Sara to fill it. Instead, music filled the room as Sara's cell starting vibrating, rattling on the glass table as Hanks name flashed up on it once again. This time Sara picked it up and turned it off, shoving it back into her pocket.

At that point the door opened and Mandy Webster popped her head around the door. She looked at the two of them, feeling the tension in the room and wondered if she had interupted something. Grissom waved his hand, signalling for her to come in, as Sara turned around, relaxing her arms by her side.

"I scanned your Jane Doe's prints. Nothing in AFIS, and Greg didnt get any hits from DNA either"

Grissom bowed his head at Mandy as a thank you and she left the room. He took one last swig of his coffee, then stood from his chair, intending to get back to work. He placed the mug into the sink, then headed for the door looking back at Sara as he reached it.

"If you ever need to talk..."

Sara flung around, turning her back to him. Grissom took the hint and walked away looking defeated, heading down the hallway. Sara backed up, leaning against the edge of the table and folded her arms. She stood in silence for a few minutes, shutting her eyes and stretched her neck and shoulders, trying to relieve the tense aches that were starting to creep in. After that, she threw her coffee mug into the sink, and left the break room, not sure what to do next reguarding her case.

* * *

It had been a long night. They didn't know who their Jane Doe was, they didn't have any other evidence yet to go on, and they found no traceable evidence on the blanket the victim was covered with. The only piece of evidence worth noting was the tyre tread Grissom had photographed. Scanning it into their database, it revealed the tyres were significatly large, often found on large vehicles particularly pick up trucks, and 4x4's. But this information was no good without anything to compare it to.

Everyone else had gone home with the exception of Sara, Grissom and Catherine as they all stayed late working on their cases. As the sun started to come up, Sara made her way out of the building, her eyes lowered to the floor as she walked, heading over to her car. Right now she wanted nothing more then to get home, have a hot bath, then climb into bed. This case had mentally exhausted her as she spent the whole night trying to find something, anything for them to use in their search for the killer. It was quiet in the parking lot. Barely a sound with the exception of her own foot steps. The wind howled, calling like a wolf, as it breezed through the tree tops. For some unknown reason, she looked around her, feeling as though someone was there. She did not move as she listened, her senses heightening in the eerie silence.

Nothing. Maybe she was being paranoid.

As she reached into her pocket for her car keys, the feel of her phone buzzing in her pocket made her jump. Sara unlocked the car, throwing her bag onto the passenger seat, then took out her phone. Hanks name flashed up on the screen. Irritated she growled as she forcefully pushed the reject call button. Did he not take the hint? She turned the phone on silent and turned off the vibrate feature, then climbed into the driver side, and rolled down her window. She moved the rear view mirror down and peered up into in, checking out her tired eyes.

"Hey..."

A voice suddenly sprang from beside her, as she jumped once again, her heart thundering in her chest. Two arms rested themselves on the window edge as that familiar bearded face leaned down into the window.

"Grissom, you startled me".

The thundering of her heart slowly started to die down, but Grissom in his usual detailed fashion did not fail to notice she was flustered.

"You look a little shaken. Are you ok?"

Sara shifted in her seat as she maneuvered the rear view mirror back to its original position.

"Yeah, yeah i'm fine".

Sara identified the look of doubt spreading across his face as his eyes tightened.

"I'm just tired, thats all... Goodnight Grissom."

Before allowing him to speak another word, she reversed the car, forcing him to move back from the door. Catherine stepped out into the parking lot and noticed Sara leaving. She raised her hand to wave at her, but Sara did not return the action, giving both Catherine and Grissom one last look before she drove off, heading home.

Sara encountered heavy traffic as she attempted to get home. While stuck in a seemingly never ending queue, she took a glance at the front of her cell phone to look at the time. She got distracted as under the digital clock were the words "10 missed calls". Bewildered, she flipped it open and clicked into her call log. Every single one was from Hank. Not only were there 10 missed calls, there was also 3 voicemails.

Hesitantly, she opened message one.

"Sara? Sara its Hank. I need to talk to you Sara. Will you please call me back when you get this message"

She continued onto message 2.

"Sara are you there? Please pick up Sara. I need to explain."

Followed by message 3.

"Sara please. Don't ignore me. We need to discuss this Sara. I'm sorry. Just please let me explain".

Sara chucked the phone down onto the passenger seat. He sounded dishevelled, desperate even to talk to her. But she didnt want to hear it. No amount of explaining was going to make up for what he had done to her.

Eventually after a 45 minute journey, she made it home. Feeling drained, she headed up to her bedroom and sat on the edge of her bed to remove her boots. The curtains were still drawn from the previous evening, as the room was dark. As much as she wanted to run a bath, her body refused to budge. She fell backwards, collapsing onto the bedsheets and shut her eyes, giving them the few minutes rest they needed. A light filled the room, illuminating the skin over her eyeballs as she opened one of them. Her cell phone was alight. It was him, again. Finally fed up of it, Sara flipped the phone open and placed it to her ear.

"Sara! Sara I..."

"Stop calling me Hank! Its over!"

And with that she ended the conversation before it had even began, and blocked all incoming calls from his number. She proceeded to delete him from her contacts list, and thumped back down onto the bed, dropping the phone beside her. He wasnt making it easy for her to forget what happened as his face filled her thoughts. Craving sleep, she curled up onto the bed, still fully clothed. Slowly her mind pushed his face out of her head, as it finally hung up its boots for the evening, and drifted into dream land.

* * *

**Can I just point out that I actually despise Hank for getting involved with Sara. She's Grissom's girl! **

**Also I'm open to thoughts/suggestions. IF there's anything that people want included, or want to see happen, or something they want said then I don't mind trying to throw it in. OR I could always take ideas for another story (once I'm done here).**


	5. Chapter 5

**Think its time for a little bit more GSR interaction ;)**

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Barely an hour had passed when Sara could hear a constant noise buzzing through her head. Wearily she opened her eyes, initially thinking she was dreaming until the noise pierced through her, disturbing the little rest she was finally getting. Reluctantly she forced her eyes open and lazily pulled herself up, sitting up as she looked around the room. The noise continued, her sleepiness causing her not to realise what it was. She rubbed her tender eyes, and picked up her cell phone from beside her, eyeing it. Realising it wasn't her cell, she got up from the bed and headed towards the sound. As she entered the living room, and the volume of the noise got louder and louder, she finally recognised it as the house phone. Not being able to stand the same tone repeating over and over, she yanked it from the stand as the automatic answering mechanism kicked in. She placed it to her ear.

"Hello?"

Her voice was quiet, not being able to work up enough energy to even talk.

"Sara? Its Hank. I cant get through to you on your cell".

Sara rubbed her temples with her spare hand, tension building as she could hardly think straight.

"For God's sake Hank, you need to stop calling me".

"Sara if you'd just talk to me, let me expl..."

As the tension in Sara's mind hit its peak, she suddenly found the energy to raise her voice.

"You cheated on me Hank! What is there to talk about!? No amount of explaining is going to make me forgive you!"

"Please Sara, I made a mistake. I care about you, I miss you."

Sara laughed at him, her tone directly mocking him.

"Hank this has got to stop. I cant take you constantly calling me. I'm tired Hank. I'm tired, and I've got a lot of stuff going on at work, and I cant deal with this too... And if you don't stop calling me, I'm going to file for harassment"

Sara hung up on him, hoping she had got the message through. As she went to walk away, it rang again. In anger she yelled, and ripped the phone cord from the wall, throwing the device across the room. Rage, frustration, stress and torment hit her all at once as she collapsed against the wall, and slid down it until she was sitting against it, knees pressed up to her chest. She placed her elbows on her knees and ran her hands through her hair, interlinking her fingers behind her head as she clenched her eyes. The pent up emotions within her were starting to surface, barely keeping herself from sitting and sobbing. All she wanted to do was sleep yet all she could hear was a constant ringing and Hanks voice.

Not entirely sure why, Sara found herself opening her cell phone and dialling the number of the only person who knew about her break up. She sat with the back of her head resting on the wall, as the other end of the line rang, and she waited with baited breath. The ringing stopped as the other end of the line answered, and finally she felt herself breathe again as he spoke.

"This is Grissom"

Hearing his voice brought comfort to her, as she felt herself calm.

"Hi Gil, did I disturb you?"

"No, no, I haven't been to sleep yet. In fact I've only been home a short time. I was just finishing off some papers first... what's wrong Sara?"

Grissom could hear her breathing heavily, picking up that she was trying to hold herself together. Hearing his concern broke her down as a lone tear made its way down her cheek. Its always the way that when your feeling down and someone is nice to you, that's when you cant seem to hold yourself together. Part of her hated him for knowing her so well to pick up when she was feeling low. She could barely string words together, her voice ready to break at any moment.

"I... I think I need that talk now"

* * *

Sara arrived at his home a short time after. Sara had asked Grissom if she could come over, and as Grissom decided it was not an conversation appropriate to have over the phone after hearing her on the brink of tears, he agreed. Sara was relieved to get out of her house. It was the one place that at the minute she didn't feel comfortable being in. She had changed before she left, wearing a pair of low slung combat trousers, and a plain black tank top. As she exited the car, the clash of her skin with the cool breeze in the air woke her up from the daze she had been in whilst driving.

Inside, Grissom was sitting on the couch, going through various documents on the coffee table. He had heard a car pull up outside, so went to look out the window. There she was. He found himself straightening his polo shirt he was wearing, making himself look at least presentable, and quickly packed up the papers into a neat pile. He walked over to the door, and pulled it open to go and greet her outside, but he stopped in his tracks as he came face to face with her, not expecting her to be at the door that fast. Her hand was raised, curled up into a fist as she was about to knock. Grissom pulled his glasses away from his face as he looked at her and all she could manage was the most effortless smile he'd even seen from her as she lowered her hand slowly.

Neither of them needed words, their eyes doing the greeting for each other when they locked together. Grissom stepped back and stood to one side, allowing Sara to walk in, then closed the door behind her. She felt soothed, being in a familiar surrounding and immediately felt reassured by his company. Sara sat down on the couch, closely followed by Grissom as he sat on the one opposite her. He bent forward, resting his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands in front of them, his body leaning towards her. He sat and waited.

Sara could tell by his body language that she was going to have to take the lead here. She breathed deeply and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I didn't mean to spring myself on you like this Gil. I just cant be somewhere that reminds me of him right now".

Sara emphasised the word "him" making it clear to Grissom who she was referring to. Grissom didn't move a muscle in his body with the exception of his eyes, as watched her responses. His role right now was to listen.

"He cheated on me... I walked in on them. I only caught a glimpse but that was more than enough"

Sara swallowed hard, keeping back the emotions that were clawing their way up. Grissom felt a pang of anger hit him, not understanding why someone would want to hurt her. Sara wet her lips as she continued.

"And now he wont stop calling me. The funny thing is, he actually says he misses me. He cares about me".

Sara let out a low laugh, and shook her head as she repeated his words almost trying to convince herself he meant it. She stared at the coffee table in front of her.

"Why do people always hurt the ones they claim to love?"

Grissom's gaze dropped to the floor, not being able to answer that question with an appropriate response. He was pretty sure he had hurt her emotionally on a few occasions by not responding to her advances towards him. He wanted to, boy how he really wanted to. But when the occasion arose, something always stopped him and consideration of the consequences to both their lives, held him back.

"Seems that I'm not cut out for dating my colleagues..."

Sara paused. Grissom felt a gripping in his stomach at that moment as Sara raised her eyes and locked them on him, and he noticed that she was indirectly making that comment personal to him. She slumped back into the chair, resting herself against the back of the couch. A yawn escaped her lips. She looked exhausted, her eyes giving it away, almost looking painful to keep them open.

"There I was, thinking I actually had something going with this guy... God how could I be so stupid?"

Grissom did not allow her to continue as he raised his arms off his knees, sitting up straighter.

"You are not in the least bit stupid Sara. If Hank was so short sighted to not see the amazing qualities you possess, then he's the senseless one... he doesn't deserve you."

Silence fell between them, neither tearing their eyes away from each other. Grissom had bought her the little bit of comfort that she was craving right now as a small smile appeared on Sara's face. She swallowed hard once again trying to avoid any more tears, her mouth now running dry. Then she bought her legs up, keeping her boots hanging over the edge, but curled up onto the couch, resting her head on the arm of it. Her eyes were heavy, and blurred, hardly able to keep awake. Grissom stood from the couch and walked out of the room. A few moments later, he returned with a blanket in his arm and draped it over Sara. Without moving her head, she looked at him questioningly.

Grissom did not need to speak as he wrapped the blanket around her. In almost an instant she fell asleep, not being able to fight her tiredness anymore, and looking so peaceful as she did. Now he was closer, Grissom could see the pool of wetness that had formed in the corner of her eye which he affectionately wiped away with the back of his index finger. He checked his watch, deciding he had better get some sleep as well. As he headed towards the stairs, he took one last glance back at her and smiled to himself, before heading upstairs to bed.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Grissom woke, his mouth feeling as dry as a desert. He headed downstairs intending to get a drink and suddenly remembered Sara was on the couch as he spotted her. Quietly he tiptoed past her into the kitchen, pouring himself some water into a glass. As Grissom headed back, treading as quietly as he could past the couch, Sara stirred almost like she could sense his presence in the room. He stood absolutely still, trying not to make another sound as she stretched, then lazily opened her eyes. Grissom wanted to kick himself for disturbing her.

"I'm sorry, I was just getting some water. I didn't mean to wake you"

Sara rubbed her eyes then sat up, the blanket falling off her shoulders and settling into her lap, then shuffled herself sideways slightly making a larger gap beside her. Grissom took the opportunity to sit on the edge of the couch beside her in the gap she had now made, and placed his glass on the table. He wanted to check on her. Sara stared down at the blanket in her lap.

"No no, its ok. To be honest my dreams are not doing me any favours right now."

He scanned her face, her expression telling him everything he needed to know. He had learnt to read her so well in the time that he had known her. Without realising, he had place his hand over hers, subconsciously rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

"You need to stop doing this, stop tormenting yourself Sara, before it eats away at you and destroys you"

"Kinda like your bugs huh?"

Sara smirked, but a serious look spread across Grissom's face.

"Oh come on Grissom, lighten up"

Grissom's whole face seemed to tense up, turning into a near-frown. He seemed to be thinking to himself. He raised an eyebrow.

"Why am I having a sense of Deja Vu?"

Sara looked back at him, not understanding what he meant but presuming he was referring to the other night when she stayed. She still couldn't recall her actions during her drunken antics. Grissom picked up on her confusion.

"Well, that what you said last time... after you kissed me."

"Oh..."

Sara brought her hands into her lap, and starting twiddling her fingers as she looked down at them. If she was ever going to get the chance to find out what happened that night, now was the time to do it. This may be the perfect opportunity for her to grasp his thoughts about it.

"How did you... I mean... What did you do?... When I kissed you?".

Grissom finally realised his hand was holding onto hers and slowly pulled it away, placing it into his own lap. He had been dreading the moment she would ask him about that kiss. What if she kept prying, digging deeper until he confessed what he really thought about it. He decided keeping it simple was the best way to approach the question.

"I..." He cleared his throat "Well, I stopped you from doing it again, and escorted you back to bed."

Sara bit her lip, not sure if she should ask the next question. But she did it anyway.

"Why? Did you stop me I mean?"

Grissom drew his eyes away from her.

"... Because you had been drinking and it would have been wrong not to."

"So... if I hadn't been drinking, and I was fully aware of what i was doing... would you have stopped me then?"

She turned to look at him, the big brown orbs in her eyes meeting his own piercing blue ones. She didn't take her eyes off his as Grissom parted his lips to speak but fell silent, not sure how to answer her question. He had walked right into it unintentionally. At the mention of kissing her, his subconscious took over again as his eyes dropped to her lips and back up again. Sara did not fail to notice. If Grissom wouldn't answer the question directly, she was going to find out for herself. Subtle was not the way forward this time.

With that, Sara leaned forward and ever so softly let her lips graze his, placing a single gentle kiss on his lips. She pulled her face back, centimetres from his just enough to look into his eyes. Grissom stared back, frozen, feeling her breath on his face. His head and heart were playing a game of tug of war, with his heart pulling towards her, telling him yes, whilst his head was telling him no. Sara could see the turmoil of how to react in his eyes. She gazed into them, almost pleading with her own for him not to push her away this time.

She leant forward again, pushing her lips to his a little harder this time. She felt him tense up, and knew at that moment he would refrain, just as he always did. Just as Grissom resisted and pulled his head back breaking the seal between them, Sara quickly placed her hands behind his neck, curling her fingers up into his hair, and unexpectedly pulled him back towards her, crushing their lips back together. She let her tongue slip out running it ever so slowly, tantalizingly along his bottom lip, as she gripped his hair tightly not allowing him time to consider her actions or any consequences.

That was it for Grissom. The rope pulling between his head and heart snapped. Just like a match striking across the box, her tongue flicked across his lip, igniting the fire and hunger within his belly that he had kept chained up deep down. Sara had broken them, the restraint suddenly slithering away and he found himself opening his mouth, allowing her in as she desperately sought his tongue with her own. Consumed by her passion, and the inability to control himself any longer, he responded. The warmth of her wet tongue on his swelling lips stirred up his deep seated feelings as he bought his hands up, one resting on her shoulder and the other settling against her flushed cheek.

His heart had won the battle.

* * *

**I am fully intending for the next scene to be the reason its rated M! Hopefully wont take me too long to get it up since I am off work for a week now for Christmas. Yay!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Just wanted to say thanks to those who are reviewing. It is very much appreciated. Especially those who have posted more than once! =) Things are about to heat up in this chapter. This is full of heavy sexual content so if you are offended by this sort of material, you don't have to read it! This is purely sex based so that those who don't want to read it, can skip to the next chapter once its up. Enjoy!**

* * *

Sara's stomach started doing flips as Grissom's tongue met hers, dancing around her own. She had only ever imagined what it would have been like to lock lips with this man that she had been in love with since she could remember, and the reality of it was far better the anything she had every imagined before, as everything else around her disappeared. At this moment, nothing mattered.

She kept him held tightly towards her, just in case he suddenly changed his mind, but for Grissom it was too late for that. He now had a proper taste, and he wanted more. No more contemplating, no more thinking before he acted... Her touch, her taste, her scent, everything about her flooded his mind, almost drowning in her presence as she gripped onto him.

Grissom felt a tightening in his groin as Sara hungrily lapped at his tongue with her own, deepening their kiss further. Reluctantly Sara pulled back for a moment, both of them needing to catch their breath. Both their eyes were heated, lust emanating from them as they looked at one another. Sara could feel a pulsating in her groin, the look he was giving her making her insides quiver with delight. Grissom's hand remained on her cheek but he shuffled his thumb, dragging it across her bottom lip until it settled under her chin, almost holding onto her face. Abruptly he turned her head sideways and dipped his head, pressing his lips to the bare flesh of her neck. His beard felt delightfully rough against her soft skin as he ran his tongue up her neck, causing shivers to bolt up her spine. She squirmed under the feel of his warm lips, tonguing the exposed area, as a soft moan trailed from her lips. With one hand holding onto her face, Grissom's other came up, hooking his finger underneath the straps of her tank top and pulled it down past her shoulder, exposing more of her skin, his lips following in hot pursuit.

Sara shut her eyes, breathing heavily as his lips continued to make her tremble from head to toe, arousing her as she started to feel a dampening between her legs. She ran her fingers through his hair, then twirled her fingers into it and pulled, moving him back harshly. Disappointed with the break of contact, Grissom watched her as her hands moved to the top button of his pyjama shirt. Their eyes did not unlock as she seductively smiled, then slowly unbuttoned him, a mass of dark slightly grey curls springing from his chest. She pushed the shirt off his shoulders as it fell to the floor. This was the first time she had seen him topless, revealing a masculine figure, broad shoulders and strong arms.

Now it was her turn. He observed her closely as she pulled her top over her head, not wearing a bra, as her perfectly rounded breasts exposed themselves to him. Her pink buds were hard, aiming in his direction, looking delectable and begging to be touched by his skilled hands and lips. Fire flickered in his eyes, her naked upper body sending impulses to his aching member as she sat before him, confident and comfortable in her own skin. Sara wrapped her arms around his neck as she lay backwards, pulling him down with her and dragging his head down to her heaving chest, the anticipation of his caress making her breathe hard. He shuffled his body so he covered hers with his own, their hips meeting in the middle. Grissom did not disappoint as he encircled her right nipple with his blood filled lips, his thumb stroking the other. His name oozed from her lips in a barely audible whisper and his stiffened member throbbed in response, something Sara noticed as it rubbed against her thigh. Grissom swapped over, giving attention to her left nipple as her back arched, pushing it deeper into his mouth. He groaned against her breast as arching her back made her heated centre thrust against his own.

He turned his attention to her stomach, lining it with firm kisses, his beard tickling her with every single one causing every nerve in her body to stand to attention. Her inner walls clenched with every kiss as he trailed his hands down the sides of her hips, her body jumping in response. He may not have been with a woman in a while but this man knew exactly what he was doing. His hands reached her combats, undoing the button and zip, then sliding them off her hips along with her black lace panties, as she lifted them. He shifted back, pulling them to her ankles, their removal being stopped by her boots which he proceeded to yank off her feet. As he discarded her items of clothing to the floor, he scanned her entire body from the ends of her toes, up her smooth legs, over the crevice between her thighs, back over her breasts and settled on her face. He smiled, the beauty of this woman rendering him speechless. He began sliding his tongue up the inside of her ankle, slowly drawing it up her leg, sending shocks up to Sara's brain as her body jolted. His hands followed, massaging every bit of skin he could touch. He was so detailed with his job that Sara wasn't surprised that he was paying the same detailed attention to her.

As his hands reached her knee's he slipped his hands under them, holding them from underneath and lifted her legs, parting them by pushing them upwards so her knee's rested beside her ribs. Grissom peered up at her then down to her most intimate part, feeling the intense heat rising from it. A deep low "mmmmmm" came from the back of his throat as he looked at her slick pink folds, looking deliciously wet, and all he wanted to do was devour her. Sara bit her lip as his breath tickled her centre and he raised his eyes, watching her as she writhed infront of him, desperately wanting him. That was all the invitation he needed as he suddenly plunged his face between her thighs, delving his tongue into her swollen lips as her hands gripped onto the back of his head. He adjusted his body, raising himself up onto his knees and slid his hand up her thigh until his large fingers rested at her entrance. Every so slowly, teasing her, he pushed two of his fingers into her warmth, opening her up. Her inner walls welcomed his fingers, tensing against them. She was so wet for him, so ready for him. His erection strained painfully against his pyjamas bottoms as she involuntarily bucked against his face, grinding her core into him as he relentlessly sucked, nibbled and licked every inch of her swollen nub, his fingers probing her insides over and over, her wetness pooling around them. He was insatiable, not able to get enough of her as she hips shook under his tongue and hands.

A tingling sensation began building inside her, her walls convulsing uncontrollably around his fingers as her pleasure began to peak. Ruthlessly he continued, stroking every sensitive spot he could find as she started to moan loudly, huskily, groaning wildly. Her fingers curled up into his hair, almost pulling it from his head as the building orgasm rushed from deep within her belly, straight up to her head and her eyes rolled back, experiencing the mind blowing sensations he was inflicting on her. Grissom slowed his fingers, drawing out her satisfaction as the orgasmic waves made her words incoherent between her moans.

"Wow..."

Those were the only words she could manage as her body eased down from an earth shattering orgasm, her insides still convulsing, her heart pounding hard underneath her ribcage. Her eyes looked glazed over as Grissom stared at her, open mouthed, his breathing ragged, her peaked pleasure enflaming his own arousal. He always wondered what it would be like to have her, caress her, make love to her. But now that she was beneath him, naked, hot, sweaty, her chest rising and falling harshly, all thoughts of love making were blinded. Now he just wanted to fuck her, his carnal desires surfacing as he could see her reciprocating the same kind of thoughts within her own eyes.

Sara sat up, and shoved him backwards, forcing him to lay back on the couch. She moved herself, and dragged his pyjama bottoms off his legs, throwing them to one side. His erection sprang from beneath, standing strong as Sara licked her lips, eagerly wanting to taste him. She crawled up his legs, then dipped her head between his thighs, sliding her tongue from the top of his testicles upwards along the whole length of his shaft. Grissom threw his head back, inhaling sharply, as he tangled his fingers up into her hair. He lay back, eyes clenched as Sara took him into her mouth, sucking him deep. Her hands grazed the inside of his thighs as she bobbed up and down on him, running the flat of her tongue around his head. His hips began mimicking her own from before, jerking upwards, unable to restrain himself. Grissom pulled on her head, breaking her seal of her lips around him. He couldn't bear it anymore, he wanted to be inside of her. He pulled her head up, tangling his tongue up against her own again as he leaned forward, making her lay back again as his body enveloped her own. He nestled between her legs, leaning his weight on his hands placed beside her head, waiting at her entrance as he revelled in her kiss. He moved his head back, as they got lost in each others eyes, love pouring from them. Sara wasn't sure if he was hesitant about his next move, or whether he was trying to express himself by looking at her, but she didn't give him time to decide as she wrapped her legs around his back, and used them to pull him forward sharply as he entered her deeply with a single thrust.

They moaned in unison, both their pulses racing as Grissom started to withdraw slowly, and then plowed his hips back into hers, wonderfully stretching her insides. He repeated this action again, then again, and again as Sara whimpered with every thrust. She locked her ankles behind his back, using her thigh muscles to continuously pull him into her. For a moment he stilled, observing her face as she looked at him with longing, need and love all combined into one expression. He smiled at her, brushed her cheek with his hand, then bent his head capturing her lips on his own once again. His body took over, plunging into her hot centre over and over as her legs gripped onto his hips tightly. He sucked on her bottom lip forcefully, as he heaved into her, his breathing becoming fragmented. Sara wrapped her arms under his own, resting her hands on the back of his shoulders, clinging on as the couch jumped with every movement of their hips. Sara's silken insides tightened against him with each thrust, pulling against him, craving his length more as she groaned into his mouth. Grissom was relishing in the feel of her, clenching around him as he incessantly moved inside her, savouring every bolt of pleasure that rushed through his body.

Grissom wrapped his arms around his back and pulled her upwards, skilfully moving them both so he was sitting with his legs hanging over the edge of the couch, and she was straddling his lap, knees placed either side of his thighs. He looked up at her, brushing her now messy hair over her shoulder, the hair on his chest titillating her puffed up nipples. Sara took over control, raising her hips and bringing them crushing down onto his lap, burying him deeper inside her. She grabbed onto his shoulders, steadying herself as she bought her reddened lips to his neck, softly biting on the stubbly flesh. Grissom gasped, the sharp sensation of her teeth sending his mind into spirals as she ground her hips into his. She rode him hard, panting, letting every bit of pent up emotion stream from her lips with each breath. He fondled her breasts, cupping each one and squeezing with just the right amount of expertly applied pressure as she began bouncing on top of him once again. This time Sara went for it, full pace, badly wanting to make him feel exactly the same way she was, her mind hazy with longing. Grissom's eyes clenched hard as she hammered herself down on top of him, that feeling building up inside her once again. Grissom could tell that she was on the brink, her breathing giving it away so he placed his thumb between them, circling her engorged clit. That was all that Sara could take as the friction sent her over the edge, orgasmic waves rushing inside her as she buried her head in the crook of Grissom's neck. As she came, her walls tightened around Grissom as his mouth dropped open, feeling his own pleasure heighten as his whole body went rigid, and he was sent over the edge along with her, both crying out together in harmony, their bodies perfectly synched with each other.

Both of them remained still, chests heaving together as they came down from the sensation. They felt each other's muscles relax, and Sara moved her head from his neck. He turned his face towards her their eyes locked once more. Silently they just looked at each other. Sara made the first move, placing a peck on his lips as she raised herself off of him. Grissom fell back, laying down on the couch, his energy spent. Sara did exactly the same thing, crashing next to him as he leg muscles ached from straddling him. She placed her head on his chest, nuzzling into him as Grissom wrapped one arm around her, and reached down the side of the couch with the other, grabbing the blanket and dragging it over the both of them. Sara sighed, gently rubbing his chest hair as she shut her eyes, her tiredness creeping back in. As she slowly drifted off to sleep, feeling perfectly at rest in the arms of the man she loved, Grissom stared at the ceiling above him as he stroked her shoulder.

Now that he had gotten his desire fulfilled, and he was left with his thoughts in the silence, all those doubts started clawing their way back into his mind. Grissom exhaled deeply as he closed his eyes, trying to block all those thoughts back out again, as he settled to sleep with Sara.

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**Phew! Feeling a little hot in here. I must say that was fun to write hehe ;) Review if willing! Hope you enjoy reading, cause I certainly enjoyed writing! Its Christmas in a couple of days so if there's any late ness with the next chapter, I apologise in advance.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas! Sorry for the delay in this chapter but its kinda hard to get back to it during all the family visits! So I wanted to get a new chapter up before new years. So what happens between our protagonists after their interesting evening together? Lets find out shall we...**

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As night fell, the moonlight came shining through the windows as Sara stirred. She moved her hand, expecting to come into contact with Grissom's bare chest, but all she met was the cool material of the couch. She opened her eyes and peered around the room. He wasn't there.

As she sat up, Sara glanced over at the clock above the fireplace. She had slept for seven hours straight. It certainly was the best sleep she had experienced for a long time. Wrapping the blanket around her naked body, she walked over to the kitchen and peeked in. No sign of Grissom. She then stood at the bottom of the stairs and called out his name... no answer. A sudden feeling of dread washed over her as she realised Grissom had left her alone in his home. Dazed from her deep sleep, and slightly confused, she dragged her feet back over to the couch and gathered her clothes from the floor, dressing herself. A slip of paper caught her eye, laying open ontop of the coffee table.

"Called in to work early"

Recognising the beautiful calligraphic handwriting, she presumed it was from Grissom which explained why she had woken alone. But that was all it said. She found herself wondering why it was such a meaningless note, almost expecting there to be some mention of what happened, or at least signed with his name and some notion of an expression of love. She threw the paper back down onto the table and then looked back up at the clock again. Realising she was due at work in just over an hour she decided it would be a good time to get home, showered and changed. With that, she took one last look around the room and then left.

Driving home, flashes of the events of last night kept appearing into her mind. Grissom's hunger for her, his passionate embrace, his hands setting her skin on fire... what an evening they had. Sara tried to convince herself that maybe he had just not wanted to wake her, that he didn't have any time to write anything else in the note, that he would welcome her with open arms when she next saw him which would no doubt be back in the lab.

Sara reached home within half an hour. The first thing she did was run the shower. She shed herself of her clothes and climbed in, the steaming hot water feeling refreshing on her skin and the heat cleansed her mind. Sara wrapped her hands around the base of her neck, her fingers curling around the back as she massaged the area, trying to relieve the muscle cramps that had formed from her earlier antics. The skin on her neck seemed to sting a little under the waters caress and she touched the area. A raised red rash was apparent and Sara smiled to herself, knowing it had been caused by Grissom's facial hair. Then began the flashes of last night again. Sara placed her face directly under the stream of liquid and closed her eyes, trying to block the flashes out because remembering the night they had shared, also reminded her of the way she had felt when she woke up alone. But blocking out the thoughts were not proving to be easy. Her flesh even seemed to tingle, almost being able to feel his hands and lips still on her. Sara ran her fingers over her face, and back through her hair then tipped her head forward allowing the water to run down her back, relishing in the comfort it bought. She stayed in this position for a short time, then remembered that she had a job to get to. Reluctantly she turned the facet off and stepped out of the shower.

As Sara wrapped a towel around herself, she caught a glimpse of her face in the mirror and found herself starting back at her own reflection. Studying her own face, unexpected feelings of denial began to cloud her mind, as she began to wonder why she pushed Grissom into his actions last night. What if he regretted it? What if their relationship was destroyed? Maybe if he'd have been there when she woke, she would feel different about it. But the way she saw it right now, was that he had run away from what ever conversion they may have had that evening. Well he wasn't going to get out of it at work. She was adamant that she would bring the subject up at soon as opportunity presented itself. Sara turned away from the mirror, then quickly dressed herself, dried her hair, tied it into a ponytail, brushed her teeth, gathered up her wallet and cell phone, then got back into her car and headed to work.

* * *

When Sara reached the building, she parked up and climbed out of the vehicle. Just as she was about to take another step towards the entrance, she found herself hesitating. She was actually a little anxious about seeing Grissom again, not sure what interaction was going to take place between them. She inhaled the air deeply and began pacing up and down, psyching herself up and thinking through what to say in her head. Should she be direct and ask him outright about it? Should she beat around the bush a little and edge the subject in? She couldn't decide. Sara glanced at her watch realising she had no more time to think about as the time hit midnight, indicating the start of her shift. Sara sighed and headed into the building, deciding that the only way to see how the evening would play out, would be just to go along with it.

Turning into the corridor, she walked opposite Grissom's office and stopped in her tracks when she lay her eyes on him. He had his head down, flicking through papers, concentration etched on his face. As Sara watched him, she got that familiar feeling of butterflies in her stomach and her heart began racing. Why was this so hard? Why did her feet suddenly feel like they weighed a ton? As she watched him, feelings of anger started to creep their way in. Now all she wanted was answers. Her mind had been made up, and direct was the approach she was going to go for. She was going to go in there, and just have it right out with him.

Sara took a deep breath and strode towards his office. She charged right in, closing the door forcefully behind her, looking liked she had a purpose. But as Grissom looked up from his papers, took his glasses off and laid his bright blue ocean deep eyes on her, she felt her face and body soften, and her mouth ran completely dry.

"... Hi..."

_Hi? HI? Well that was bold! So much for the direct approach_ she thought. Grissom stood from his seat, anchored to the spot and placed his hands into his pockets. He gave her a weak smile, acknowledging her presence and Sara immediately felt his lack of warmth towards her. So she wasn't expecting to live happily ever after. But she at least expected a little more then what he was giving.

Grissom didn't speak, unsure of what to say to her first. He had so many things he wanted to say, but talking to her was something he never found easy. That game of tug of war had commenced once again between his head and heart as he looked at her. The uncomfortable silence was unbearable as Grissom shuffled his feet. Sara's eyes started to become watery as she could already sense how Grissom was feeling, discomfort almost seeping from his very pores. Grissom cleared his throat.

"I gather you found my note..."

Sara stared back at him and nodded. She interlinked her fingers in front of her, hanging them down by her waist and looked down at them, giving them her full attention rather then look back up at Grissom.

"Brass called me in. Said he had some news about our case."

Sara couldn't look more disinterested if she tried. The last thing she wanted to discuss was work.

"A family came forward saying they know the victim after her face was televised on the news. We've arranged to..."

"Gil..."

Sara cut him off mid-sentence as she raised her head, her eyes fixing on his own. Grissom closed his mouth and knew that talking about work was not going to distract her.

"Gil, we need to talk about what happened between us."

"Sara can we discuss this later?"

Sara took a step towards him, her body rigid with frustration.

"No, not later Gil! We need to talk about it now. How do you expect me to work with you for the next eight hours, not knowing how to act around you, or what to say to you? It has to be now..."

Grissom sighed and turned his back to Sara, looking at the items on the shelves, looking anywhere but at her. He closed his eyes, knowing that no matter how he worded things, it had the potential to hurt her. Grissom filled his lungs with air, and kept his eyes shut, rubbing his temples.

"Sara... last night shouldn't have happened. I should have not let it happen. You've been emotionally vulnerable for the past few days and I took advantage of that. I let my heart rule my head, and for that I am sorry..."

Sara laughed, not believing what she was hearing. She flung her hands down by her side and shook her head.

"Your sorry? Your SORRY? Is that all you have to say to me?"

Sara took a step towards him, as if the distance might make a difference. Grissom could sense the hurt in her voice and felt like his heart bled. He didn't want it to be like this.

"Gil, you give me the most amazing evening with you, one glance into what it would be like if you finally gave in... to finally have you. Then you throw it aside like it doesn't matter? Like it was a mistake?"

Grissom could feel one of those migraines coming on, trying to relieve the tension with his fingers on his head.

"Sara, we've been friends for a long ti..."

"Friends?"

Sara interrupted once again, exasperation in her voice.

"We're not friends Gil. We never were "just friends". You know that what ever this is between us, will not go away. I've spent the last three years being forced to suppress my feelings for you, so I can at least spend every day working along side you and I'm tired of it."

Sara paced around to the other side of his desk, and placed her hand on his upper arm. Grissom's arm muscles tightened at her contact.

"I dated Hank because you spurned my advances. One minute you seem to be giving in, and the next you had built this impenetrable brick wall around you, casing yourself inside... And I finally managed to break that wall down, just for a short time... but now it seems its been rebuilt, standing stronger then ever".

Sara tightened her grip on his arm, and pulled him around, making him turn his body to face her own, but he avoided eye contact with her, knowing that if they locked again like they did last night, he would cave in instantly.

"Grissom... you know how I feel about you. At least have the decency to admit you feel the same way... or just put me out of my misery."

Grissom sighed once again and pulled himself away from her grip. He walked around to the other side of the room, distancing himself from her once again. He stood opposite the book shelf, staring at the book spines, but not paying any attention to what they read. Sara watched him carefully, waiting for some kind of response. Seconds past, but it seemed like a lifetime until Grissom turned around to look at her, and his gaze caught hers. If he didn't say it now, he never would.

"I do love you Sara..."

Sara felt like a heavy weight fell instantly off her shoulders as he stomach did a couple of somersaults, hearing him say it. Grissom turned his back to her once again.

"Its taken me a long time to figure it out for myself. When I think about it, I know I've loved you since the first moment I saw you... I loved you when you walked into that seminar room, hair in a ponytail just like it is now, bag under your arm, eager to learn... I loved you when you kept raising your hand to ask me questions about anthropology despite it being a completely unrelated subject..."

Sara smiled slightly to herself, remembering their first meeting a couple of years ago. Grissom continued.

"I loved your laugh... your smile... the way your cheeks flushed the slightest hint of red whenever I looked at you... I loved the way you tucked your hair behind your ear when I talked to you..."

Sara felt herself easing up, the earlier frustration now gone, almost feeling a sense of relief that he was saying these things to her. She started to take slow steps towards him once again. The volume of Grissom's voice had become quieter with each sentence, tenderness in his voice.

"... I loved your enthusiasm... Your ambition... Your drive..."

Sara had reached him, standing ever so close to him. She placed her hand under his chin, and pulled him round once again, this time not allowing him to look anywhere else but at her face. Grissom was about to continue but Sara placed a finger over his lips.

"Then why do you shy away Gil? Why is it so hard for you to take this that step further, beyond our so called "friendship"? Beyond our working relationship?"

Grissom grabbed her wrists, and delicately lowered them away from his face . His voice suddenly turned firmer, as he looked her straight in the eyes.

"Because you deserve better than this Sara. Better then me. I falter away because I don't want this for you"

Sara found herself raising her voice a little in response.

"But that's not your decision to make Gil!"

"But it is Sara! My life revolves around the lab and has done for the last twenty years. Its all I've ever done, its all I've ever known. I don't know how to share myself with something or someone else, become a part of someone else's life, to be responsible for something other than my work. I'm not sure if I'm even capable of doing so... I don't want to hurt you Sara when you find out I cant give you what you want".

Grissom's own heart was racing, attempting to be as honest as he could with her. He was breathing harshly, his intensity of his feelings coming out through the way he spoke. Sara raised her hands between them, and took a few steps backwards from him, not wanting to hear anymore.

"The problem is Grissom, your too stubborn to try. Your standing here in front of me pouring out your very heart and soul, finally confessing how you've felt all along, but your too scared to take a risk and do anything about it."

Sara started backing up towards the door.

"Love is hurt... love is hurt, pain, sacrifice... but it is also happiness... joy... a bond between two souls that can out live and survive all the hurt, and pain, no matter what is thrown at them. But if you never had any intention of taking those risks, then you should have thought about it before you slept with me."

That was the problem for Grissom. He hadn't thought about it. The beating organ in his chest had ruled every sensible thought in his mind, and directed his actions. Sara shook her head.

"You know what? Just forget it. Forget all of it"

Sara spun around abruptly, about to leave but a knocking came on Grissom's door. Jim Brass popped his head around the frame, and found Sara standing right in front of him, and Grissom standing at the furthest point away from the door. Brass could instantly sense the strain in the room between them.

"Am I interrupting? It's just that our Jane Doe's family are here to be interviewed and I figured the both of you would want to be there."

Sara put her hand on the door knob and pulled it open further, making Brass stand up straight and to one side.

"No its fine. I was just leaving"

"Sara..."

Sara paused as Grissom spoke, and she turned to look at him once again. He moved to her and placed his hands on either side of her shoulders.

"Sara... I cant work this case without you... I need you..."

Sara 's facial expression fell blank, as she looked back at him.

"Yeah well... clearly you don't..."

With that, she pulled her shoulders out from his grasp and walked out of his office as Grissom watched her walk away. Brass followed her movements with his head until she was out of his sight, then turned back to Grissom. Grissom had no words, just nodded his head at Brass, indicating for him to lead the way.

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**Don't you just want to slap Grissom and tell him to get his act together! Keep the reviews coming please and feel free to critique whether good or bad. I am doing this without a beta reader or anything and all ideas come from my own head, so I'm trying to keep it interesting. Sara sure is having a crappy time... and I feel it may get worse, before it gets better!**


	8. Chapter 8

**There may be a delay with future chapters since I'm going to have to knuckle down and get on with my assignment that's due in at the end of this month. So apologies again if posts are late. Wanted to get this posted so I can focus on my work, but I'll be writing little bits in between so hopefully it wont take too long :)**

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Grissom headed to the interview room, his field kit in hand, trailing behind Brass. As they passed the various rooms, he looked around left and right, hoping to spot Sara. But she was no where to be found. As they walked, Brass filled Grissom in on the details. Due to their unsuccessful attempt at identifying their dead female, they had agreed to release a picture of her face to the news in a bid to find someone who recognised her. A couple had come forward claiming they were her parents, and named the victim as Kaycie Scott. As they reached the interview room, Brass pulled the door open allowing Grissom to enter first. He was met with the grief stricken faces of a man and woman, approximately in their late fifties, whose eyes were both puffy and red. Grissom placed his kit on the table in front of them and stood round the other side opposite them. Brass joined him, placing himself in the empty seat besides Grissom. Brass took the first words.

"Mr and Mrs Scott, I'm Captain Jim Brass of the Las Vegas Police Department, and this is my colleague Dr Gil Grissom of the Las Vegas Crime Lab"

Brass motioned to Grissom, allowing him to progress. Grissom looked down at the couple from his standing point.

"Mr and Mrs Scott, I'm very sorry for your loss."

The couple gripped each others hands tightly as Grissom and Brass both tried to look as sympathetic as possible. Grissom hated that line. It was the same thing they ended up saying to every other family or acquaintance involved with the bodies of their crime scenes. But it had become part of the job to say it. Grissom opened his kit on the table and took out two swabs.

"We need to obtain a sample of both your DNA to confirm your relationship to the victim. Its standard procedure."

Mrs Scott's bottom lip trembled, visibly making every effort to hold herself together. Mr Scott frowned but opened his mouth co-operatively, giving Grissom his consent to take a sample. Grissom took a swab from both individuals, then placed them into his case ready to be given to the DNA department. Grissom took a seat and crossed one leg over the other, resting back into the chair. Mr Scott learned in towards Grissom.

"Dr Grissom, do you know what happened to Kaycie?"

Grissom bought his arm up and put his elbow on the arm of the seat, cradling his chin with his hand.

"We believe she was restrained... and then strangled."

Mrs Scott burst into tears as Mr Scott comforted her. It always seemed harsh having to inform families how their victims died, but there was never a nice or easy way to put it.

"Mr and Mrs Scott, do you know if Kaycie was seeing anyone? We have reason to believe she had company that evening?"

The husband and wife glanced at each other for a split second, then back to Grissom. Mrs Scott inhaled deeply to calm herself.

"Well, she mentioned she was seeing someone but she hadn't gone into any detail about it. As far as I know she had only been on a couple of dates with him"

Grissom manoeuvred forward, bending in towards the couple.

"Do you know a name? Or what he looked like?"

The wife shook her head as did the husband.

"No Dr Grissom. I'm afraid Kaycie was very private about her life. She wasn't really one for commitment and bringing men to meet her parents."

Brass and Grissom both looked disappointed. A description would have been a starting point at least. Grissom thought for a moment.

"Any other family members, or close friends she may have discussed this man with?"

Mr Scott shook his head.

"She was our only child..."

Once again, Mrs Scott's tears started falling fast, a few appearing in the eyes of Mr Scott as well. He took his wife's hand again, both of them squeezing the other gently. Brass looked down at his lap, but Grissom kept his eyes on them. Mr Scott sniffed hard. Brass straightened himself up in the chair.

"When was the last time you saw your daughter?"

Mrs Scott wiped her nose with a tissue, and then under her eyes with another.

"She stayed with us last week. She would stay with us in her room every weekend."

Brass and Grissom exchanged glances .

"Mr and Mrs Scott, with your permission we'd like to come and take a look at her room. There may be something that could help our case."

"If its going to help you find the son of a bitch who did this to my little girl, then do what you need to do".

Brass stood and held his arm out towards the door.

"Come on, lets get you guys a coffee and then you can show us the way".

Grissom stood at the same time out of courtesy as Mr and Mrs Scott made their way to the door with Brass. Before they left, they looked back at Grissom.

"You will find this man won't you Dr Grissom?"

Grissom couldn't make any promises at this time but he nodded his head reassuringly.

"We'll do our best".

With that, the couple left with Brass. Grissom used his thumb and middle finger to sweep across his eyes from the outside to the bridge of his nose, that migraine still lurking. He gathered up his kit, and dropped the samples into DNA on the way to his office. Once inside, he closed the door behind him, shutting out the noise allowing a little quietness back into his mind. As he went to sit back in his desk chair, an envelope with his name on the front was placed neatly on his desk. He slide his glasses on and studied the handwriting. He knew instantly it was from her. Opening the letter, he bought it close to his face and read it slowly.

"Gil, I'm sorry but I cant do this anymore. I cant bear to see you every day knowing how you feel, and knowing that you still refuse to let me close to you. I've poured all my energy, my heart and my soul into my emotions trying to deal with what you said to me, trying to come to terms with the fact that you still shut me out just like you always have. I cant be around you feeling this way. We just seem to keep going round in never ending circles. So, I've decided I must leave. I am on the first flight out in the morning. No matter how many times our paths cross, it seems we are both to go down separate roads. I wish you all the happiness in the world, where ever you may find it. It just wasn't meant to be. Just know, I will always love you. I'll miss you. Sara."

Grissom looked up from the letter, a plethora of emotions building up but the most powerful one digging deep into his chest was heartache. She was leaving and it was because of him. He didn't know how long the letter had been on his desk, but on the off chance Sara was still within the walls of the lab, he took two steps towards the door to go and locate her, letter in hand. He looked around every room, every door, every corner of the lab, but she was no where to be found. He took out his cell phone and flipped it open, scrolling through his contacts to her number. Brass interrupted him.

"Grissom. We're ready to go".

Grissom's fingers paused on the keypad. He had gotten so caught up in the letter he had forgotten everything else that was going on around him. He had to make a choice right now. Work, or Sara. He stared at her name on the screen. His finger lingered over the "ok" button. Just one more push of that button was all he needed to do. Grissom closed his eyes, and reluctantly, slowly, he closed his cell phone. As the lead CSI in charge of the case, he had no choice but to go with Brass. Grissom refolded the letter that was still within his grip and slipped it into his back pocket.

* * *

Sara dropped the letter on Grissom's desk and eyed his office. She was really going to miss the place, miss the lab and miss the people she worked with. But Grissom had made it too hard for her to stay. Her flight was already booked and she needed to get home and organise herself. The last thing she cared about right now was that she was leaving in the middle of her shift. Sara left the lab and made her way back home. Steering away from the lab at that moment made teardrops form in the corner of her eyes. As she pulled into her driveway, there was another vehicle, a black Chevrolet Avalanche was parked outside her drive. Sara exited her car and inspected the larger vehicle. She scowled as she recognised it, then turned around coming face to face with Hank as he alarmed her. Hank held up his hands defensively.

"Hey hey, I didn't mean to scare you... can we talk?"

Sara huffed and turned away, beginning to walk towards her door. Hank grabbed her arm tightly, stopping her but Sara thrust her own out of his grip.

"Please?"

Sara huffed once again. The only way to get this man to stop bothering her might be to let him say his piece and get it over with. Considering she was leaving Vegas in a few hours, and would likely never have to see him again, she thought what the hell. After all, he couldn't possibly hurt her as much as Grissom had. Sara rolled her eyes and nodded at Hank agreeing to let him in. Once inside, Hank threw his jacket over the arm of the couch, then sat on the edge of it. Sara placed her cell phone and wallet onto the side table but didn't want to sit as she stood before him, waiting for him to get it over and done with. A look of concern came over Hank's face.

"Have you been crying?"

Sara's eyes gave it away and she rubbed them with her fingertips, removing the wetness around her eyelids.

"Don't you dare pretend to care Hank"

Hank stood and neared towards to her, reaching his hand out to her.

"Of course I care Sara. I know I've upset you..."

Sara pulled her body away from him, denying him the touch of her arm he was going for.

"Oh don't think I'm upset because of you. Your not worth my tears anymore. What do you want from me Hank?"

Sara slumped back into the chair behind her, removing herself from being near to him. Hank placed his hands on his hips as he looked down at her.

"I.. I want to go back to the way things were. I want us to be together Sara."

Sara looked amused, it almost sounding like a joke. But Hank looked pretty serious about it. Too serious in fact.

"Your kidding me right? You sleep with another woman and you expect us to get back together?"

Hank squatted down in front of Sara, by her legs and placed his hands on her knees.

"It was a stupid mistake. I'll do anything to make this right."

Sara once again manoeuvred herself, rejecting his touch.

"Even if there was some way for me to forgive you Hank, its too late for that. I'm leaving Vegas. For good"

Hank looked like she'd kicked him in the stomach at hearing those words.

"You cant go Sara, you cant leave behind everything cause of me."

Sara laughed.

"You cant seriously be that self centred Hank to think I'm leaving just because of what you did. Its everything. You, the lab, the cases I've been working on, Grissom..."

"Grissom?"

Hank scowled upon hearing the name of her boss. Sara didn't meant to include him, but if she was honest with herself, he was the sole reason she wanted to go.

"It always falls back to Grissom doesn't it?"

Sara looked puzzled, and Hank just looked annoyed. He stood from his position, raising himself tall above Sara, towering over her. His body language and demeanour suddenly changed.

"You know what Sara, this is all his fault! You'd spend all your nights working alongside him, staying long hours to help him, going in on your days off as a favour to be with him. How do you think that made me feel? This... this obsession you have with him made me feel like a substitute, like I was second best."

He looked angered, the mere mention of Grissom's name triggering his behavioural response. Sara raised herself forcefully, standing before Hank, the volume of her voice increased.

"It was still you I came home to. Still you I shared my bed with. But that , still wasn't enough for you to remain faithful was it? At least I didn't sleep with him while we were still together!"

Sara paused as Hank stared her down, his eyes widening. She backed up a step from him, almost feeling a little intimidated.

"You... you slept with him?"

Hank's eyes tightened again, narrowing. Sara didn't answer and fell silent. She looked away from Hanks eyes. She didn't need to answer, her whole reaction gave it away. Hanks body went stiff, tense, his hands clenching into tight fists. The thought of Grissom's hands all over her made Hank feel nauseous, bile rising within his throat. Hank began pacing up and down in front of her, mumbling to himself under his breath, clasping his hands through his hair. Sara had never seen him like this before.

"What does it matter Hank?"

Hank stopped pacing, and without warning grabbed her forcefully just below her shoulders on each arm, his fingers digging harshly into her flesh and holding her arms down so she could not move them. Sara grimaced, his grasp hurting her.

"It matters Sara because you..."

Hank slid one of his hands up her arm, over her collarbone and then twisted his fingers around her neck holding it firmly and pulled her closer, his darkened gaze boring into her eyes.

"...are supposed to be mine!"

Hank had a deranged look in his eyes, and Sara felt genuinely fearful of him, her heart roaring beneath her rib cage. He glared down at her for a few moments, without blinking. Hank recognised the look of fear in Sara's eyes and he came to realisation of what he was doing. He loosened his grip and removed his hands from her, visibly shaking as he took a step away.

Sara bought her hands up, rubbing the now tender area of her neck, as she looked at him with disbelief.

His actions set in motion a series of memories in Sara's brain to flash before her eyes. Her female victim, how she had died, her face... and then she remembered. It was the same face she had seen beneath Hank, the same face that had looked up at her when she had walked in on the two of them. She was Hank's "other woman".

Sara had suddenly realised that this man was not who she had thought he was. That he had developed an unhealthy desire to be with her. Her absence and refusal to be with him had provoked some sort of mental instability that was no doubt lurking within him the whole time, requiring something to set it off. And now he was in her home, a ticking time bomb, ready to go off at any moment.

Sara couldn't hide the horrified look on her face at discovering Hank was the perpetrator. Unfortunately, her discovery didn't go unnoticed by Hank either.

* * *

**These events as well as the next ones coming up are all happening around the same time, just at different locations. So I'll try to sync them within the writing as best I can. Stick with it =P**


	9. Chapter 9

**Ok so I got a little distracted whilst trying to do my work assignment lol I just cant help myself but to come back to here! But I've been trying to write things when I'm in bed so I'm not taking up my study time. So here comes chapter 9! Also you may have noticed I tend to do a lot of "..." during talking. I find it a good way to convey when the characters are thinking or hesitating at any point. So sorry if your sick of it ;)**

* * *

Kaycie's room was small but adequate for a single individual. A dresser sat opposite a beautifully made single bed with scatter pillows perfectly placed in symmetry. Make up, hair products and photographs adored the shelves. Grissom trailed his eyes over the items, paying close attentions to the photo's. All contained images of Kaycie with other females presumably friends, or with her parents.

Grissom spiralled the room starting from the doorway and working his way inwards. He checked out the closet, discovering sparkly dresses, frilly tops and dozens of handbags and shoes. But nothing of value to the case. Grissom turned his attention to her bed. He threw back the covers and took the UV light from his field kit, scanning the sheets with it. Again, nothing of importance. Grissom decided to get to his knees, lowering his face to the hard wooden floor boards to see if there was anything relevant. An item caught his attention under the bed. Reaching under, he pulled out a pink laptop. Grissom immediately took a photo and bagged it. Figuring it was the only potentially useful thing within her room, Grissom stood to his feet and looked at his watch. It was just after 3am.

Pausing for a few moments, his mind wandered back to Sara and he reached into his back pocket, taking out her note. He read it once again, getting that familiar feeling of his heart being crushed beneath his chest. With the note in his right hand, he reached into his front pocket with his left and took out his cell phone, flipping it open. The screen still had Sara's name across it. Staring thoughtfully ahead, he contemplated whether he should call her. He wasn't even sure what to say, but he found himself just wanting to hear her beautifully husky voice again.

Grissom pressed the "call" button and raised the phone to his ear. He waited almost impatiently for her to answer, his eyes moving around the room as he did. But she didn't answer. Grissom ended the call, and then repeated his actions. But again there was no answer. Hoping to be third time lucky, Grissom attempted the call one more time, allowing it ring on longer than before, the monotonous ring tone going on and on. No response. Instead, this time the voicemail kicked in, requesting the caller to leave a message.

"Sara. Call me when you get this message... I..."

Grissom halted his words, deciding what to say next. He parted his mouth to continue, but the words would just not flow from his lips.

"Just call me ok?"

He sighed and bought the phone away from his ear, slowly closing it, ending the call. Grissom's thoughts played havoc in his mind: Of course she didn't want to speak to him. He had hurt what she valued most. No attempt to talk her round was going to do any good.

It wasn't that he regretted his night with Sara. Far from it in fact. He had never felt that close to someone before, like they were joined mind, body and soul perfectly attuned to one another. It had been almost a relief to finally allow her in. She had always accepted him for who he was despite the barriers he had placed around himself and despite his futile attempts to ignore how she felt about him. But what he did regret was the way he had dealt with the situation. Regretted taking what he considered to be the wrong opportunity to get close to her. Felt like he had taken advantage of her vulnerability at that moment. Maybe if she hadn't been on the rebound, and having a hard time dealing with their case, maybe she wouldn't have craved his comfort. But now his punishment was that she didn't want to be around him anymore, and that was something Grissom was struggling to deal with. He didn't want her to walk away from everything she had going for her in Las Vegas, especially not because of him.

His thoughts were dispersed as Brass came into the room, snapping Grissom out of it.

"You done here Gil?"

Grissom tucked the bagged laptop underneath his arm and made his way to the door, signalling to Brass he was ready to leave.

On return to the lab, Grissom headed straight for the video/audio analysis room and found Archie working on a something. Grissom placed the laptop directly in front of him. Archie took the hint and turned it on straight away and Grissom came around to his side of the table, leaning over him to look at the screen. Kaycie's picture popped up on the screen, a password entry box beneath it. Archie looked over his shoulder at Grissom.

"Its password protected. I can hack into it but it will take a few minutes"

Archie started tapping on the keyboard as Grissom stood upright again.

"Once your in, I want you to look into everything. Photos, videos, emails, accounts, everything".

"Well that might take a little longer"

Grissom started heading towards the door.

"Just let me know when you find something."

With that, Grissom left Archie to it and headed back to his office.

* * *

Sara stood wide eyed, staring back at Hank.

"It was you..."

Hank took a step towards her but Sara mirrored him, taking a step backwards and placed her hands up like a barrier between them.

"Don't you fucking come near me!"

Hank paused. He looked panicked that Sara knew his secret. Sara glanced towards her cell phone on the side table, something that Hank noticed. It was two steps away from her. Could she beat him to it and speed dial Brass before Hank stopped her? Sara decided that she had to try as right now this man was unpredictable. She made a hasty dash sideways and grabbed her phone but Hank had anticipated her move and sprinted to her. As Sara went to push key 2, Hank came at her from behind and wrapped his arms around her, clasping the phone and wrestling it from her hands as she yelled in response. He snatched the phone from her grip and threw it on the couch. He held on top Sara around her upper arms and lifted her from her feet as she kicked out furiously, trying to make him release her.

"Let me go you son of a bitch!"

Hank dragged her kicking and screaming towards the dining room table at the other side of the room. He forced her down into one of the chairs and pulled her arms around the back of it. He then proceeded to take his handcuffs from his pocket and bind her hands together. Sara pulled at the restraints with all her strength, adrenaline pumping through her veins, until the hard metal dug into her wrists painfully consequently making her give up. Hank stood in front of her, hands on his hips, watching her. Sara angled her neck to look at the cuffs and the red raw marks now beginning to form on her wrists.

It all made sense now. The marks were similar to the ones on their victims own wrists indicating Hank had used his cuffs to hold her. It was no surprise now that the house had been cleaned up since Hank clearly knew how to handle a crime scene. However, he obviously didn't expect to be in this situation as he started pacing again, nervously. Sara sat back and observed him. Hank clasped his hair and began talking to himself again, perspiration forming on the side of his forehead.

"I'm sorry Sara, I just cant have you calling Jim on me."

Sara followed his every move with her eyes. At this point he looked pretty desperate.

"Why Hank? How could you take a life so callously?"

Hank stopped pacing and ran his fingertips through his hair.

"How could I? It was her fault! She wanted to see me again and I told her that it was only temporary. I wanted to be with you. I tried to end it. And then she... she provoked me into it. Telling me that you would never be happy with me because you were in love with _him. _I told her to stop and she wouldn't. Every time she said it, it was like a knife stabbing me in the chest. Then I... I just snapped. I became a different person. And then I..."

Hanks words trailed off as Sara's cell phone started to ring. He walked over to her phone and picked it up, looking at the caller ID on the front, as "Grissom" scrolled across the screen. He sniggered as he turned the screen in Sara's direction, showing her the caller. Sara also noticed the time read '03:15am'.

"Looks like your boyfriend wants to talk to you."

Hank pressed the 'decline' button, the ringtone cutting off. As he lowered it to his side, it rang again. His thumb still loitered over the same button as he pushed it again. It rang for a third time. He allowed it to ring on this time, as he looked up at Sara.

"Seems pretty keen for you to answer".

The ringing stopped as it cut into the answer machine. Hank lowered the phone to his side and then released it, dropping it to the floor. Raising his heavy size 10 boot, he smashed it down on top of it until the phone shattered into multiple pieces. Sara winced with each down thrust of his boot, making a cracking noise each time it came in contact with the phone. She could no longer bear to look at him, and turned her neck, looking across the room. The only pushed Hanks buttons more as he made a swift move towards her and grabbed her tightly under her chin, pulling her face back to look at him again and held her still. He leaned in close to her. Sara responses with a look of disgust.

"You know what Sara, this was all for you. By eliminating her from the equation, we could be together again. She would no longer be hanging over us. We'd be free to start again. I need you to forgive me Sara... I need you to love me."

Sara knew it wouldn't help matters but she couldn't help herself as she spat right in his face. She couldn't believe he was trying to justify a murder and blaming everyone else but himself for it. Hank used his free hand to wipe off the saliva dripping down his face. He tightened his grip on her jaw, the pads of his fingers indenting into her skin as Sara breathed hard through her nose. He moved in even closer, his nose almost touching her own as his eyes burrowed through her own.

"I'll make you love me."

Hank glared at her. Sara looked concerned, not sure what Hank had planned for her. But one thing she did know is that she wasn't going to be going any where any time soon.

* * *

Grissom sat in his chair, pen in hand, tapping it repeatedly as he stared at the Newton's Cradle on his desk, the metal spheres mimicking each other with each swing. The look on his face could only be described as pure misery. Catherine walked into his office and Grissom was so wrapped up in his mind he didn't notice her. Catherine could almost feel his misery on entering his office, and she placed her hands on the desk in, leaning her weight on them.

"Who died?"

Grissom was instantly broken from his trance as he flicked his head up to Catherine. He dropped his pen on the desk and placed his hand over the Newton's Cradle, stopping the constant tapping of metal upon metal.

"Is that supposed to pass for lab humour?"

Catherine beamed at him, trying to make the effort to cheer him up. She was only met with a bleak look. Catherine reverted back to her standing position and folded her arms over her chest.

"What's the matter Gil?"

Grissom took a deep breath and puffed out the air in his lung. He leant back in his chair.

"She's gone Catherine."

Catherine creased her eyebrows, lowering them.

"What? Whose gone?"

Grissom let out another puff. It was hard even just to say her name at this point.

"Sara..."

Grissom shifted his view away from her face, instead choosing to look down at his lap.

"...I had her... and I let her go."

"Well go after her then."

Grissom flicked his head up once again, and looked a little shocked. He had more or less hinted to Catherine that he and Sara had been involved with one another, and she acted like it was completely normal.

"You don't seem to be the least bit surprised about all this Catherine."

Catherine chuckled, and shook her head at him.

"Any dummy can see you care about her Gil. Hell I think the whole lab has noticed. You seem to be the only one who didn't realise it sooner. Did she say where she was going, or when?"

"She's on the first flight out, at 8am"

Catherine glanced at her watch.

"Eight am? Gil that's 4 hours from now. Get your ass out of that chair and go after her! I cant have you moping around your office every day for the next how ever many years. Go stop her!"

At that point, Nick walked into the room, sandwich in hand, hearing the last part of Catherine's sentence.

"Stop who?"

Catherine turned to Nick and placed her hand on his shoulder. Nick took a bite of his food.

"Nicky, will you please tell Gil to get up and go after Sara before she leaves for good."

Nick coughed, almost choking on his sandwich at hearing of Sara's departure. He looked back and forth between Catherine and Grissom.

"Sara's leaving?"

His face turned towards Grissom, not wanting to believe what he was hearing. Grissom looked serious as he nodded in reply. Nick quickly swallowed his mouthful.

"We cant have one of our best CSI's leave the team. Before you know it, I might be forced to work with Greg, or even Hodges!".

Catherine chuckled again, and Grissom managed an amused smile at Nick's protest. Nick waited for Grissom to respond, wanting him to get out of his chair. Grissom hesitated. Nick looked around the room, and focused his attention on the irradiated foetal pig that Grissom always had sitting on his shelf. Nick grabbed the jar and raised it above his head.

"Go! Or I swear Miss Piggy gets it!"

Grissom stood from his chair, and moved around his desk about to approach Nick. Instead Catherine grappled the jar out of Nick's hand and held it close to her body to avoid dropping it.

"Stop bullying the pig Nick!"

Nick smiled, as Catherine placed the jar and its contents back onto the shelf. Grissom remained standing and Catherine moved to him, touching his left forearm with her right palm. Her voice was calm but serious.

"Gil, are you really going to let the one person that despite your... strange... yet lovable ways, still accepts you for who you are... walk out of your life forever?

"I can't leave. I'm waiting on news from Archie. I..."

Catherine gave his arm a squeeze.

"Let me deal with that. I'll handle your case for now. I'll let you know if something turns up."

Grissom pondered on it for a few seconds and then smiled admiringly at Catherine. They had built up a close friendship in the years they had been working together, almost like they were brother and sister and she always seemed to know what to say. Grissom raised his right hand, clasping onto her left and took it away from his arm, holding it tightly.

"Thanks Catherine."

Grissom released her hand and then left the office. He didn't have much time. He figured Sara would need to be at the airport at least an hour in advance. He peered at his watch. It was currently 4:30. He still had some time. He figured the best place to go would be her home as surely she would still be packing. Grissom hurried to the car park and jumped into his vehicle. Once he started the engine, he revved it up and made a speedy exit, making his way straight to Sara's house.

* * *

**Thought I'd throw in a little humour to lighten it up a little. Humour in the lab, but a darker environment at Sara's. A little contrast between the scenes. A few mentions of the time so that you can keep up when things are happening (hopefully). Again, there may be a delay with the next chapter so be patient with me :) and thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry for the delay with this next chapter. Still not getting anywhere with my work assignment so I switched to this! Naughty but meh! The next chapter wont be until after the 31st (when my assignments due) so be patient with me. Continue those reviews please, I like reading people's thoughts =)**

* * *

Grissom drove quickly, taking every short route possible to get to Sara's. He knew there might not be any point in reasoning with her. She was always pretty stubborn once she had made her mind up. But her strong will and determination was partly what he loved about her.

As he turned the corner of the road, her house came into view and her car was outside. Fortunately she was still home.

He pulled up behind her vehicle and parked. Exiting the car, he walked around and stepped onto the pathway when the large black truck opposite hers caught his attention. He glanced it over, seemingly recognising it but couldn't quite work out who the owner was. Shrugging his shoulders, he walked up the path towards the door. He could see the lights on bordering the shut curtains, confirming that she was still there. Grissom stood at her door, and paused.

He thought about what he could say to her that hadn't already been said. Sara had pretty much hit the nail on the head when she had told him he was too scared to take a risk. Grissom's problem was that there were too many 'what if's' circling inside his mind. What if it went wrong? What if it jeopardized both their careers? What if one of them got hurt? It was moments like this that he hated his brains ability to over analyse and think too much.

Grissom took a deep breath, bowed his head and closed his eyes, slowing his thoughts as her face entered his imagination. She was smiling at him, her eyes lighting up as she did. The questions started again. What if he never saw that smile again? What if he could never experience the way she made him feel with a simple look again?

Catherine had simplified matters for him. That if you find someone that truly loves you for the person you are, not to let them go.

Grissom opened his eyes and bought his head back up, looking at the red painted door in front of him. Taking another deep breath, he raised his hand and pressed the doorbell. He waited.

* * *

Hank released Sara's face and backed up. He turned away from her, looking at the opposite wall and appeared to be thinking. He was uneasy and jittery. Sara observed him, red finger marks were now noticeable on her skin. She figured this situation wasn't pre-meditated.

"So what's next huh Hank?"

Hank turned his head, looking at her over his shoulder. He didn't answer. Instead he resumed staring ahead.

"You cant just keep me tied up forever."

Hank raised his voice, interrupting her.

"Shut up, I'm trying to think."

Sara continued.

"Sooner or later someone will work out who killed that girl and they'll come looking for you. And if they don't find you at your house, where do you think they'll go next?"

Hank covered his ears, not wanting to listen and starting shaking his head back and forth.

"That's right, here! As far as everyone is concerned we are still dating. And if you're not here, they'll track you down, where ever you go. You know as well as I do Hank we've got the best police department in the state. There's no escape from this. There's..."

"I said shut up!"

Hank swung around, flinging his arm out as he did and the back of his hand struck Sara across her face. Following through with the motion, her head flew to the side, the impact making her wince in pain. She clenched her eyes shut tightly, trying not to let the tears well up in her eyes from the stinging sensation, and the area around her cheekbone began to throb. Blood started to appear at the side of her bottom lip, a small cut apparent. Her instant reaction was to bring her hand to her face to soothe the sting, but she remembered she was bound once the cold metal cuffs pulled against her wrists. Hank grasped his mouth in shock. He knelt before her and tucked her hair behind her ear, looking at marks he had left on her.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry Sara. I didn't mean it! I didn't mean to..."

Sara didn't look at him. Hank attempted to rub her cheek and she recoiled away from him. Hank stood and started pummelling the sides of his head with his fists.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

Sara couldn't help but look at him this time. He had officially lost it but he was only angering himself further. Sara had to cool him down, sensing that keeping him calm might be the only way to stop him doing anything more serious than hitting her. She ran her tongue over her bottom lip, clearing the blood drop that was about to descend.

"Hank? Hank its fine... its fine..."

She kept her voice low, and upon hearing it Hank stopped. Sara gave him the most convincing genuine smile she could possibly attempt to give considering the situation.

"I'm ok. It was just an accident."

Hank knelt back down beside her and nodded as he stroked her cheek. Sara decided not to pull away from him this time, for her own sake, even though she couldn't bare to let him touch her. Sara continued to smile at him.

"How about we just think this through together? You know, like we used to. I'm sure we can work something out."

Hank grinned at her. But it was quickly wiped from his face as a pair of headlights shone through the curtained window. Both of them were distracted by it, and both turned their heads in the direction of the lights. A car door could be heard closing, as Sara listened carefully. Hank froze, also listening. After a few silent seconds, the doorbell rang.

A muffled voice came from behind the door.

"Sara?"

Sara felt instant relief hearing Grissom's voice. She opened her mouth to call his name but Hank quickly glared at her and cupped his hand around her mouth, stopping her from making any noise. Hank waited, hoping the lack of response would deter him.

"Sara, I know your home. Your cars parked out front and the lights are on."

Hank reached behind his back with his spare hand and underneath his shirt. He pulled out a black standard 9mm pistol and held it towards Sara, her eyes instantly widened as she came face to face with the barrel. Releasing her mouth, he pressed his finger to his lips, telling her to remain quiet. Sara knew she had to do as he said, now realising he had a gun. If she called out, he could easily shoot both her and Grissom if he wanted to. So she didn't make a sound.

"Sara, I'm not leaving until you let me in."

Hank growled quietly, annoyed that Grissom wouldn't give in. With quick thinking, he removed his t-shirt leaving himself topless and ruffled up his hair. Slipping the gun behind his back again into the waistband of his trousers, he kept his fingers poised around the trigger and moved to the door. He pulled it open just wide enough so his bent elbow was hidden behind his back, and Grissom could not see inside.

Grissom looked taken back by the fact Hank was answering the door. He noticed immediately that Hank looked dishevelled.

"Oh hey Grissom. Sorry we didn't hear the door."

Grissom paused, not sure how to react. His first thoughts were that he had pushed Sara straight back into Hanks arms.

"Is Sara here? I really need to talk to her."

"I'm afraid you've come at a bad time. We were err... just making up."

Hank laughed. Grissom detected the hint of nervousness within it. On observing Hank's behaviour, he wouldn't look him straight in the eye. The perspiration on his forehead was slowly dripping down his face, and he looked uneasy. Grissom kept his expression placid.

Sara cracked on to what Hank was doing, purposely making it look they had slept together. She prayed in her mind that Grissom wouldn't fall for it.

Hank looked a little impatient, wanting Grissom to leave.

"But I'll be sure to tell her you stopped by. We're heading to the airport shortly."

He was lying. Grissom inconspicuously glanced over Hanks shoulder. There was a mirror on the wall behind him, and just at the very side of it, he could see Sara's arms bound behind the chair she was in. Grissom wanted nothing more than to charge through the door to help her. But he didn't react.

"Just tell her I said goodbye and... good luck."

Hank nodded his head and smiled. With that, he closed the door. Grissom narrowed his eyebrows and took out his cell phone. Flipping it open, he scrolled down his contacts list to Brass and raised his thumb, ready to press the call button. But before he did, he felt an impact on the side of his head, something hard collided with his skull.

Then everything went black.

* * *

Grissom opened his eyes. They felt incredibly heavy. He was dazed and his vision was blurred. His head was down, and he realised he was sitting upright in a chair. He could taste something dry on his tongue, a cotton like material coming into contact with it. He had been gagged. Wanting to move, he leaned forward and found his forearms were immobile. He fumbled with his hands and found they had also been bound behind his back. Raising his pupils, he could make out the outline of something black inches from his face. Grissom blinked his eyes, forcing his vision to return to normal as the item came into focus. It was a gun. He raised his eyes further, and was met with Hank staring down at him, holding the pistol threateningly in front of him. His peripheral vision caught sight of Sara sitting opposite.

Grissom felt a sunken feeling inside on seeing Sara. Red/purple bruising on her left cheek, a swelling appearing around her cheekbone, and a cut lip. She locked eyes with Grissom, and hers began to fill with tears. Knowing how Hank felt about him, she was far more concerned for Grissom's safety than her own.

A wetness was sliding down the side of Grissom's head. He glanced down at his lap, as blood droplets hit his leg. Hank had hit him pretty hard, hard enough to leave a bleeding wound. Hank stood menacingly over him.

"You just couldn't stay away could you?"

Grissom kept focused on Sara. He didn't favour looking down the barrel of the gun right now. Sara was afraid, her posture was rigid and her heart pounded in her chest. She knew Hank would have no problem putting a bullet in Grissom. She had to get Hank away from him somehow.

Hank pushed the gun closer to Grissom's forehead.

"Don't you look at her!"

Grissom ripped his eyes away from her, figuring co-operating was the best and only option right now. Instead he looked back up to Hank.

"I should just waste you right now. Then we... Sara and I, can start again. No barriers, no obstacles. She'll be free to love me. Free from you!"

Hank was obviously still stuck in a fantasy world of his own where nothing he had already done mattered. Grissom figured Hank was experiencing some kind of psychosis. And he knew that these episodes could be both dangerous and deadly. Behind his back, Grissom was ever so slowly using his fingers to pull at his tied restraints, trying to loosen them without Hank noticing.

"Would you be willing to die for her Grissom?"

Grissom slowly bought his eyes towards Sara again. He could easily answer that question without any hesitation. If it meant keeping Sara safe, he would be willing to sacrifice himself. Sara parted her lips, begging with her eyes for him to say 'no'. But Grissom nodded.

Hank's arm stiffened, almost like he was ready to pull the trigger. Grissom closed his eyes, as if bracing himself.

* * *

Meanwhile back at the lab, Archie was working furiously to hack into the laptop. Pressing all sorts of functions on the keyboard, he bypassed the password protected login's and now had access to all area. Catherine walked into the room at that point.

"You got anything yet Archie?"

Archie turned to Catherine's voice.

"I thought Grissom was working this?"

Catherine sat in the chair next to him.

"He is, but he's got other matters to attend to right now so I'm helping out. What you got for me?"

Archie continued pressing keys, and opening files and emails.

"I've wiped the system of all passwords so I should be able to get into anything now. Seem to be mostly photos and emails from friends and family, and... oh, wait a minute..."

Archie had clicked into an email titled "photos" and on opening it, pictures of Kaycie popped up on the screen with a male. Catherine instantly recognised him.

"What the hell is she doing with Sara's boyfriend?"

Archie continued to go through some of the emails. There was a few flirty exchanges between Kaycie and Hank to begin with and couple organising dates. But as the emails went on, Kaycie had been sending emails containing messages about Sara. Hank's replies were of a slightly more sinister tone, requesting that she left Sara out of it.

"Hold on there's an email here from him, dated the night before you found her body."

Archie opened up the email. As they read through it, Kaycie had arranged to meet up with Hank that very night to talk, and only a few hours before they had found her body. Catherine's mouth dropped. Catherine felt instantly disturbed as it fell into place for her right there. She flew from her seat straight to Brass' office. He was behind his desk and jumped as Catherine barged through the door. He opened his mouth to speak but Catherine cut him off.

"It was Hank"

Brass stared at her blank faced.

"What? Hank Pettigrew? Don't be ridicu..."

Catherine didn't give him time.

"Jim we have evidence that Hank and this girl had been seeing each other. He had been with her shortly before your guys discovered her body. The house was swept, and only someone who knows how to work a crime scene could clean it like that. It makes sense Jim."

Brass sighed. He picked up his desk phone and dialled a number. Catherine watched him as Brass spoke to the person on the other end of the line.

"Its Brass. I need you to locate a vehicle using the GPS tracking system. Name "Hank Pettigrew"... yeah, that's the one..."

Catherine waited, holding her breath as Brass listened carefully.

"And its there now?... yeah, Ashby Avenue, zip code 89102. Got it, thanks"

Brass hung up and Catherine thought to herself for a few moments. Suddenly her head snapped up.

"That's where Sara lives!"

* * *

**I completely made up Sara's address cause as far as I'm aware there is nothing that says where she lives on the show! But I looked at zip codes and just picked a random one lol. So they know who the perpetrator is now. What's next!? Thanks as always for reading.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Damn this website just drawing me back in! On the plus side I did get some work done (finally) but I just started writing this while taking a break and I couldn't stop! So I managed to get this chapter up way quicker then I was even expecting. enjoy reading! Considering this is only my second fic, i'm having fun writing it. I'm surprised I've made it to chapter 11. I normally get stuck 3 chapters in hehe.**

* * *

Brass had rallied up some of his best men, as they all stood outside the building beside their police car's waiting for instructions. Catherine had also informed him that Grissom had been on his way to see Sara. Brass stood before them, and all turned their heads in his direction.

"Ok men, we have a 440 located at the residence of CSI Sara Sidle. There is a possibility he is armed, and he is dangerous. We are unsure at this present time if CSI Sidle is present at the residence but we know that CSI Supervisor Grissom was also making his way there a little while ago".

Catherine, Nick and Warrick all ran out of the building together, joining Brass and his team.

"The safety of our two colleagues are of the upmost importance here. We have to consider he may be holding them against their will so for that reason I want no sirens as we approach the house. We don't want to startle him into doing something."

Catherine had her phone to her ear as she walked over to Brass.

"Jim, I cant get through to Sara's phone and there is no answer from Grissom. What are we going to do?"

Brass placed a hand reassuringly on Catherine's shoulder.

"Everything we can. We'll assess the situation once we are there. I'll call the paramedics on the way and get them to meet us there, just in case."

Nick and Warrick stepped up beside Catherine.

"We're coming with you".

Brass nodded, understanding that they would want to be there to help their team mates in anyway they could.

"Fine, but remember, do not get ahead of yourselves. This is a police matter until we know what exactly is going on in that house. No hasty decisions ok?"

The three CSI's agreed. Brass signalled with his hands for the policeman to get into their vehicles. Warrick, Nick and Catherine all climbed into Brass' car, and Brass led the way to Sara's house.

* * *

Tension filled the room, accompanied by silence as Hank glared down at Grissom. His arms were unsteady, holding the pistol mere inches from Grissom's face. A musical tone cleared the silence as Hank looked around him, trying to work out where it was coming from. It was Grissom's phone. Keeping one hand on the gun, Hank reached into Grissom's shirt pocket and looked at the screen. Catherine's name appeared across it. Hank sniggered and cast it aside, throwing it onto the kitchen table. He returned to his original position.

"Do you love her Grissom?"

The question unfolded from his lips almost menacingly, almost daring him to say yes. Hank clicked back the safety attachment on the rear of the gun.

Grissom waited for the clicking noise of the trigger that would be hear the split second before the bullet would explode from the barrel. Fear gripped him in the chest, breathing deeply in and out, his breath shaky.

"Would you sacrifice everything to be with her?... Because I have."

That was indeed the question. The one that Grissom had been refusing to consider, leaving it in a deep dark pit somewhere in the back of his mind all along. That was until Sara told him she was leaving and that had made his mind up. She was worth the risk.

Grissom slowly opened his eyes, meeting Sara's across the room. Suddenly just like that, the fear was gone. If he was going to die today, he wanted her to be the last thing he saw. He wanted to remember the moments they had shared working together, all those little comments and the subtle looks, the night she had drunkenly kissed him that had sparked his feelings to resurface, the night they had spent together... Not being able to do so with his mouth due to the gag, he used his eyes to smile at her, the corners of his lips upturning as much as the gag would allow, as those memories flashed through his head.

That's when Sara saw it. Sitting right there in the centre of his blue spheres was the love that she had longed for him to look at her with since that intimate night they shared. She had a quick glimpse of it that very night, but it was buried behind the desire he had for her. But now, clear as a summer sky, it was there exposing itself through Grissom's eyes.

As wonderful as it was to view the way he was looking at her, Sara could read him like a book, almost as if he was coming to terms with the fact he might be about to die. Sara shook her head at him furiously, tugging at her restraints, refusing to just sit there and watch what was about to unfold. She held her breathe, desperately wanting to scream in protest, plead with Hank not to fire. But her affection for Grissom was what had gotten them into this mess in the first place. Think Sara, think!

Hank let out a deep laugh and smirked down at Grissom.

"Goodbye Grissom"

Hank tensed his finger, the tip turning white from the pressure he was applying on the trigger.

"Hank?"

Sara spoke his name ever so softly in nothing more than a whisper, too frightened to say it any louder in case it startled him. Hank paused and peered over his shoulder at her.

"Hank lets just leave. Leave here together."

Hank remained poised, ready to use the gun, but his ears gave their full attention to Sara.

"Grissom's already made it pretty clear how he feels. He got what he wanted from me, used me, and then cast me aside."

Her words sounded almost spiteful. Of course she didn't mean it, but with Hanks current delusional state and his obsession of being with her, she hoped that she sounded convincing enough. Sara also prayed that Grissom would understand too.

"Leave him here and lets just go. My plane boards in a couple of hours. Come with me? We'll start again, just like you wanted. There's nothing left for me in Vegas anymore... Nothing worth staying for."

With Hanks back turned to her, Sara glanced at Grissom. He just stared back at her. He began to look a little sleepy, struggling to keep his eyes fully open. The knock on his head must have been harder then he first thought, it really starting to throb as blood continued to drip on the floor, the side of his head and trousers turning a crimson mess.

Hanks elbows gave way, lowering the gun from Grissom. Was he considering her proposition? No sound but silence filled the room as Hank bowed his head, sweat dripping off his chin onto the wooden flooring below.

"Do you really mean that Sara?"

Hank turned sideways, standing in between them both. He eyed her, pistol lowered to his side.

"Yeah... yeah of course I do."

Sara flicked her eyes to the gun and then back up at him. Trying to look as sincere as possible, she continued

"People do stupid things when they care about somebody... they make mistakes. But we learn to rectify them and move on."

Sara had a bad taste in her mouth from saying these things. What she really wanted to do was slap him with full force, beat her fists into his chest for the things he had done, and then proceed to lock him up behind bars forever. But she would say anything right now to keep his attention off Grissom. None of them we aware at this point that their team knew Hank was the killer, and they were gathering outside...

* * *

Multiple members of the police force had arrived at Sara's house, following their Captain. It only took a few minutes to get there, as they zoomed down the highway at high speed, traffic minimal due to the time. Brass and his accompanying CSI's excited their car first, followed by the other policemen and woman. Most of them left their doors open, pulling guns from their holsters and aimed through the rolled down windows towards the front of Sara's house.

Brass signalled for three of them to go around the side and cover the back entrance. As they walked past him, he stopped one of them.

"Go around and cover the exits. Keep your eyes open and your radio's on, and don't do anything unless I say so. If you see any movement outside the door or windows, aim but don't fire."

The cop responded with a "yes sir" and ran to join the rest of his team.

"I'll go with them"

Warrick volunteered to help. As he took a few steps away, Brass called him back.

"Warrick... Remember. Do nothing without my order."

Warrick agreed and continued on his way.

Two ambulances came down the road, also with their sirens off and parked up a few feet away from the officers. They remained in their vehicle until told otherwise.

Brass' radio stated to crackle, a lowered voice coming through. Catherine and Nick closed in on him, listening.

"Captain? We can see the assailant through the back window. He is in the kitchen area to the front right hand side of the house. He has CSI Sidle and CSI Grissom inside. Both appear to be tied up."

Catherine and Nick exchanged panicked looks, worry for their colleagues and friends etched on both their faces. The radio crackled once more as the voice came through again.

"Captain, he appears to be holding them at gun point."

Catherine closed her eyes, opened mouthed and breathed out. Nick put his hands on his hips and shook his head, facing the floor. Brass let out a heavy sigh. It was the last thing all three of them wanted to hear. The game had now changed. Nick drew his gun and started charging towards the house. Brass hastily grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Nick had to force himself not to raise his voice.

"That maniac has got a gun held to their heads and we're just standing here? We need to get in there!"

"And what? Get yourself killed in the process?"

Catherine pulled on Nick's arm, holding him back and causing him to lower his weapon.

"Jim's right Nick. If you kick down that door you might scare him into using that gun on Sara, Grissom, or even yourself."

Nick ran his hand through his hair, cooling himself down. He stepped away from them both, wanting a little distance before he did something irrational. Catherine turned to Brass.

"So what should we do Jim?"

First point of call in a situation like this would normally be negotiation with the assailant but they were allowed to use deadly force if necessary. Jim rubbed his chin, thinking hard about how to handle the situation.

* * *

Back inside, Hank had been eyeballing Sara for the past couple of minutes, trying to suss out whether or not she was genuine. He didn't want to believe that the woman he loved (or claimed to love) would ever lie to him, especially not in her current state. As far as he was concerned, he had the upper hand right now. Surely she wouldn't stab him in the back when he was the one with the gun?

These kind of thoughts were exactly what Sara wanted him to think.

"... Do you love him Sara?"

Hank proposed the question to her in exactly the same way he had to Grissom. But this time, he actually wanted an answer. Sara's lack of instant response made Hank repeat the question, only this time he near shouted it.

"Do you love him!?"

Sara wanted to proclaim her feelings, let Hank know exactly what it actually meant to really love someone. But instead she only told him what he wanted to hear.

"I... I thought I did. But it was nothing more then a silly crush..."

Hank interrupted her.

"Yes or no Sara?"

Sara paused for a couple of seconds, her eyes wandering to Grissom then back up to Hank.

"...No"

Fortunately Grissom knew Sara was trying to play him, get Hank to trust her. But neither of them were expecting what Hank proposed next.

"Then prove it"

Sara looked perplexed, frowning at Hank. Tucking the gun into the waistband of his trousers, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the key to her cuffs. He released her wrists from them and she rubbed the raw skin that had been rubbed by the harsh metal. Hank dragged her over to stand before Grissom. He removed the gun from the waistband and shoved it into Sara's hands whilst standing behind her, holding her tightly around her waist. Sara clocked on to what Hank wanted her to do.

He wanted her to be the one to shoot Grissom!

Hank held her firmly, so she couldn't turn the gun on him. Sara hesitated, seemingly refusing to raise the gun, so he placed his hands underneath her forearms, forcing them up for her. Placing his chin on her shoulder and looking over it, he spoke into her ear.

"If you really want to be with me as you claim you do, then prove that he means nothing to you."

Sara froze, being made to hold the gun in Grissom's direction. Her hands were shaking violently. Tears started to streak down her face. This is the last thing she expected to happen. Hank gripped her arms tighter, leaving finger marks on her skin.

"DO IT!"

Hank shouted into her ear, making her jump. At that moment Sara decided she had to take action, even if it meant getting hurt in the process. She had to try.

Unexpectedly, Sara shoved her arm back, elbowing Hank in his ribs. As he leant forward in response, Sara swung her body around, the momentum carrying her, and attempted to clash the gun against Hanks skull. Hank managed to catch her arm and pushed her, the gun falling to the floor out of her grip. As Sara's crashed backwards, falling a few feet from Grissom, the back of her head smashed against the hard floorboard, dazing her. Hank quickly gathered up the pistol and as he lifted it towards them both, Grissom mustered up the strength to suddenly lurched forward out of his seat, grabbing Hanks wrists as the tie around his arms fell to the floor. He had been working at the knot and it had become just loose enough to free himself from it at the right time.

The two of them wrestled, pushing and pulling one another, each trying to gain the upper hand. As Hank twisted his body, a deafening bang came from the gun, the bullet flying towards the wall. They become one large tangled mess, to and fro, shoving, twisting. Hank raised his foot, kicking Grissom hard in the knee, it giving way underneath him and sending him buckling to the floor. As Hank raised the gun once more in Grissom's direction, both the front and back door to the house flew open almost simultaneously. Hank spun towards the front door, ready to fire at who ever was coming in, but two gunshots went off before he even had the chance, the bullets penetrating his back.

As if it happened in slow motion, Hank fell to the floor, face down, motionless.

Smoke came from the end of Warricks raised gun. On hearing the gunfire inside the house, Brass had jumped into action, ordering his men to enter the premises immediately. Warrick hadn't hesitated to get in first despite protests from the other two officers, but he was the first to fire. And now Hank was sprawled on the floor. Brass bent down to him and placed his fingers over his carotid artery. No pulse.

A gasping sound could be heard, as every person in the residence turned to the sound. Sara was laying on her back, gasping for air, blood pooling underneath her and staining through her top. Despite the soreness in his knee, Grissom instantaneously flew to her side and lifted her into his lap, cradling her head with his arms. The bullet that Hank fired had ricocheted off the wall and gone through Sara's chest.

Brass ran over to the front door.

"Get the Paramedics in here now!"

Grissom held her, stroking her face gently rocking her back and forth.

"Sara!? Sara? Can you hear me?"

Sara continued to gasp heavily, struggling to get air into her lungs. Grissom recognised that sound. Her lung had collapsed.

* * *

**Dun dun daaaaa! Well it was never going to be easy! I was reading online that bullets have a 15% chance to richochet. What luck eh?  
Hoping to wrap the story up soon in the next few chapters. Need to start thinking of something new to write. Will probably continue doing something with Grissom and Sara since I am so into re-watching CSI right now. Plus I've only just seen the episode where (SPOILER) Sara says their marriage is over...*cry* so I need some sort of GSR input! Guess it will have to come through reading/writing stories. If anyone has any ideas, please don't hesitate to PM me. And as always, appreciate the reviews. muchos love to you all!**


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